#kuei&sokka | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

comradekatara · 1 year

Note

can you please tell us about dr professor sokka phd x 7

this ask inspired me to make a sokkademia tag. peruse at your leisure

sokka brings a certain philosophy professor energy to the physics department and a certain physics professor energy to the engineering department thats got all the students complaining to the dean bc he refuses to grade on a curve.

his standards are extremely high, but the worst part is he’s convinced his standards are like. the bare minimum and everyone’s just too STUPID to meet them.

he’s so divisive as a professor that students get in physical altercations upon debating his reputation. he has clear favorites and speaks to them specifically. the rest he dismisses as stupid and doesn't even bother trying to remember their names. but he respects the students who actually put in the work and they LOVE him and will go to bat for him like their life depended on it, even when faced with a (not uncommon) student who’s like “he told me to drop out,” they’re just like “and? sounds like you should’ve taken his advice.”

when katara learns how sokka treats his students she yells at him for hours. sokka’s just like “sorry but I can’t coddle and befriend my students like you do katara. we’re doing actual work instead of just playing with water” and she nearly kills him.

the university really wants sokka to give huge, accessible lectures that are open to anyone, since it’s great for business for obvious reasons. at first, sokka is just happy that he’s considered worthy of such a position, but he quickly realizes that he hates this setup. and since he basically has unlimited freedom since he’s in no danger of being fired, he’s instead allowed to construct very exclusive seminars in which he personally vets everyone who applies based on vibes.

after sokka starts playing favorites even more explicitly than he already had been, some students protest that sokka is “gatekeeping academia” and “being an intellectual elitist.” sokka’s just like “well that’s rich coming from people born in the upper ring of ba sing se. I invite students from all over the world to my seminars, including women btw.” that shuts them up real quick. (they also start admitting women.)

since sokka’s position as BSSU is basically kuei’s bribe to keep sokka as his advisor despite the fact that sokka cannot stand him, the university has no choice but to let him teach whatever he wants however he wants, since firing him would basically be treason against the earth king. sokka takes advantage of this privilege to the fullest. (and let’s be real. he’s earned it.)

he mainly teaches courses in the physics and engineering departments, but in his classes he discusses everything from art history to epic poetry to ontology. he barely even has a curriculum planned, he basically just talks about whatever he and his students feel like discussing. it’s nice to have a part of his life where he doesn’t need to adhere to a strict schedule. he knows it’s a privilege to not have a syllabus or a defined curriculum in academia, and he makes the most of it. his students know how lucky they are to work with him.

when he admits students into his class, he doesn’t actually care about prerequisites or what field they’re studying. in fact, despite officially teaching physics and engineering, he doesn’t like that most of them walk around with unearned superiority complexes, and is more likely to admit students who actually read and engage with art for pleasure. being "bad at math" is a way less egregious crime than not being curious and open-minded, in his opinion.

sokka doesn’t like giving tests, essays, or psets, since he thinks busywork is a waste of time, and he doesn’t wanna have to grade all that (for the first year, when he was giving lectures, it wasn’t an issue, since he had ta’s, but now that he exclusively does seminars, he has to grade everything himself, which is a fucking pain. he doesn’t have time for that!) so instead he just gives them one big research project with the open-ended prompt of “teach me something new.” nothing is off-limits. the weirder the better.

his students know that he is prone to go on tangents that can take up the entire class time, and it’s really easy to get him going. they’ll spend whole periods listening to him tell them about that time he got stuck in a hole while hunting and thought he was going to die, or debating the merits of airships vs sky bison as transportation.

ba sing se is a very insular city, and in it sokka has a reputation as an elitist, angry curmudgeon who keeps to himself aside from his inexplicable friendships with an elderly tea shop owner and that gloomy girl who sighs a lot. in the southern water tribe, on the other hand, sokka is seen as a goofy extrovert who knows everyone by name and is always looking to help out in any way he can (to the point where his compulsive need to help people is actually a little concerning). everywhere else, sokka’s reputation is generally somewhere in the middle, but these are the two poles. which means that whenever someone from his tribe meets one of his students, they experience this disconnect where they’re both just like “are you sure we both know sokka?? the sokka you’re describing is the same sokka as the one i know??? for real???”

sokka eventually gets sick of spending so much time in ba sing se. he suggests to katara that they should build a university in the south pole so that he can work there. katara’s like “guess what we actually do have a school in the south pole and i happen to teach there, only we don’t study book-learning for eggheads.” sokka reminds katara that the only academic universities in the water tribe are in the north (where they don’t admit women) and immediately katara decides to build a university in the south, and also it was her idea btw.

sokka does a lot of research in bending theory, and he occasionally uses katara’s students to help him with his experiments in hydrodynamics. katara doesn’t like that sokka thinks he can just steal her students like that, so she decides to turn the tables on him, see how he likes it. she finds his least boring looking student to ask out, and they get through a couple dates until katara finds his condescension too unbearable to continue. by the third time he’s told her that the only reason she doesn’t like math is because she doesn’t understand it, katara blurts out “my cat is sick i should go home and check on her bye” and leaves to punch the snow until she feels better. and they didn’t even hook up. what a waste.

toph, on the other hand, hooks up with many of sokka’s students. this is because toph likes women, which comprise a far less insufferable demographic.

no one in the gaang has read sokka’s books. zuko tried, he really did, but it gave him a really bad migraine. no one else even bothered the attempt. azula, mai, and ty lee on the other hand are all like, “you haven’t read it? sokka merely presents a theory of the particle composition of the spirit world via the notion of it as a fifth dimension interposed over space and time. it’s actually quite elementary stuff… that is, if you comprehend the foundations…”

wan shi tong has a few of sokka’s books in his library. the kitsune snuck them in there without his knowledge.

sokka coauthors a lot of his papers with yue, but since they’ve long since agreed that anyone but a select few being aware of their rendezvous in the spirit world is probably not a good idea, yue is happy with being anonymized. after all, the other spirits knowing that she divulged the secrets of their plane to such an insolent mortal would probably ruin her street cred.

sokka doesn’t really get along with the other professors. sure, they’re nice enough for the most part, and he admires their dedication to their fields, but the problem is that for all their knowledge in one extremely specific area of study, they have no actual practical knowledge or any understanding of the real world whatsoever. sometimes sokka will agree to go out with them for drinks, and even though they’re all older than him, he feels like he’s babysitting.

suki doesn’t spend much time in ba sing se, since they both agree that it’s preferable to hang out on kyoshi island or in the southern water tribe, or even the fire nation. but sometimes she’ll come if the earth king is throwing a party or if iroh has invited them for tea (at which point their reunion is extremely dramatic, as always, even if they saw each other just last week). one day the dean pulls sokka aside and is like “just because you’re a special case doesn’t mean you can date students” and sokka’s like “what??? why would i date a student???” and the dean says “well someone informed me that you were kissing a young woman on campus yesterday” and sokka’s like “suki??? you mean my girlfriend suki??? she doesn’t even live in ba sing se.” and the dean is like “nevertheless. you shouldn’t do that. i hear it’s making people jealous.”

#beangods #asks #postwargaang #sokkademia #sokka #katara #katara&sokka #kuei&sokka #sokkaxsuki #sokkaxyue #ugh now i wanna make a similar post but for katara as a teacher #and toph #i guess we already know what suki is like as a teacher lol #i love professors who alienate most of their class the entire semester and make u feel stupid and then u check ur transcript and u got an A #best kind of class. thats sokka

130 notes · View notes

justanotherthrowaway1950 · 2 years

Text

Why Azula Staying a Villain Will Only Lead To Bad Stories Part 2: Negative Effects on Other Characters, World Building, Lore, and Thematic Expression

I know how in part 1 I briefly mentioned how keeping Azula a villain causes everyone to start acting stupid and incompetent, thus denigrating them and their arcs/character growth, whenever Azula is involved so she can remain a credible threat despite the Gaang all being masters in their respective fields and having the resources of several nation-states at their beck and call plus a PMC (the White Lotus).

But I understand that I didn’t go into detail, and so my analysis was lackluster at best, and probably very controversial at worse. So I am going to go into detail based on importance, and with that said, here I go.

Zuko (The Search)

Realistically, other than some minor complaints, most people agree that TV!Zuko’s arc is one of the greatest in Western Animation. For his tale is that of someone who almost gave into his abuse and conditioning, but, with the help of his loving uncle, his travels, and mercy/compassion showed to him by his enemies/future friends, managed to overcome it and start the journey of not only becoming a better person, but also help his country heal after several decades of propaganda and brainwashing,

And part of said arc is what he comes to realize about Azula: that she is not worth emulating; that she is abusive to him and the people he cares about like Mai and Ty Lee; and that she, a genocidal, authoritarian colonizer, needs to be stopped and locked up by any means, even if it hurts him. For it is the only way that the world and his country can achieve peace and balance once again...that is until Azula starts showing signs that either she has realized the error of her ways or that she wants to take a new path, but needs help finding it.

But, in an effort to allow Azula to become a villain again, Bryke has Zuko engage in several actions that not only betray his character growth, but also aren’t really explained and negatively reflect on him.

Like, during that conference concerning Yu Dao where Zuko “realizes” that the sorry state of his nuclear family negatively reflects on him, why would Zuko care suddenly about what his subjects think of him?

Did Zuko forget that he not only betrayed his nation and basically caused them to lose a war they had already won, but also is forcing them to pay reparations (as is said in North and South)?

And that he is going to remain a pariah in his subject’s eyes until he manages to undo decades of brainwashing considering his only real allies are foreigners; Iroh, who is just as much of a traitor in the Fire Nation's eyes as Zuko; Mai, who committed treason that led to the Fire Nation's lost; and Ty Lee, who did commit a less extreme version of treason, but immediately left the Fire Nation after getting out of prison to join a foreign PMC, which would look suspect in the populace’s eyes to say the least?

But things really start to go sideways when he goes to Azula’s asylum to get Azula to extract intel from Ozai about Ursa, allows the two to talk alone, and foolishly wheels Azula alone while promising to move her back into the palace.

Like when he went to the asylum, how come he didn’t ask them about Azula’s treatment, and whether it was safe to take her out to see Ozai, her abuser and co-conspirator, let alone take her back to the palace? For if he did, maybe he would have found out she was being abused in the asylum, and therefore could have done something about it so Azula and her fellow inmates could be treated better.

But maybe not considering it is Azula, and she deserves to be abused for making Zuko’s life hard from the moment she was born./s

Like why would he allow Azula and Ozai to talk alone considering their conniving natures and the fact that they are the two biggest threats to his regime, at least politically?

Why would he wheel Azula alone, especially after Ty Lee told him that the chi-blocking is wearing off? For I know this depends on how much Ty Lee knows about chi-blocking and its effects (I’ll talk about this more in Ty Lee’s section), but Azula has already shown that she is still hostile/violent towards Zuko. That, in combination with her previous showings of being able to escape nearly any situation she finds herself in, should have made Zuko wary of being alone with Azula when the chi-blocking wears off instead of trying to have a soft brother-sister moment.

And then that whole sequence where Azula breaks free and manages to burn every single letter in Ozai’s chest, save for the “Zuko is Ikem’s bastard” letter before blackmailing him into going on the search for Ursa free, unbound, and with dignity. *Sigh*

Like why would Zuko shoot a fireball of the perfect size and speed that would allow Azula to break free of the chains on her legs, instead of, I don’t know, calling the rest of his elite guard to subdue her? Especially after she managed to bullshit instant lightning out of nowhere, and thus has tricks that Zuko does not know about?

After Zuko had caught up to her and found out that she had supposedly burned every single letter and tried blackmailing him into going on the search for Ursa free and unbound, how come he didn’t pat her down? For even if he had no way of knowing that she had that “bastard” letter, wouldn’t it be wise to check if she hid any letter on her body?

I mean this is one of the most trickiest characters in the franchise, so why not be extra cautious?

And the whole blackmail situation? Look, I understand why Zuko agreed to Azula’s terms, for who doesn’t want to find out what happened to their beloved mother? But doesn’t Zuko have a duty to the world and his subjects to make sure that Azula remains in jail until she at least tries to reform herself?

(Yes, I know Azula was involuntarily psych warded, but considering Suki in The Search calls both Ozai and Azula Zuko's prisoners, and Mai in Smoke and Shadow laments Zuko taking Azula out of her "prison", it seems pretty obvious that whole point of sending Azula to the asylum was to lock her up while getting her medical treatment as far as everyone was concerned. Hence, why I at times refer to Azula's involuntarily psych warding, or potentially getting involuntarily psych warded again, as jailing.)

I know this sounds callous, but the moment Azula tried blackmailing him, he should have told her that finding Ursa was not worth letting her free before jailing her again. For why run the risk that Azula could do something horrible or escape? I mean what could go wrong if she escaped…?

Also, even if she had to be free, unbound, and travel with dignity, why didn’t Zuko have a small platoon with him? For even if he did have the Avatar and the world’s greatest waterbender by his side, shouldn’t Zuko have taken precautions in the event that Aang and Katara got separated from them, thus leaving just him and Sokka with her?

(In my opinion, Zuko is stronger than Crazy!Azula, but not to the point that she couldn’t cheap shot him. And yes, I know Sokka is a badass, but I think as of current canon he is still weaker than Crazy!Azula.)

But most galling is the fact that he made this decision unilaterally without asking Mai and Ty Lee for their opinion, or, if he was adamant about agreeing to Azula’s terms, not providing them with 24/7 security until Azula was safely back in the asylum and/or prison.

For Azula was not just Zuko’s abuser, but also Mai and Ty Lee’s abusive friend and commander before almost killing Mai and then jailing them for life.

(The Boiling Rock Part 2 script said Azula was going to generate lightning.)

Considering that Mai saved Zuko’s life, that Ty Lee saved Mai, the love of Zuko’s life, and is part of Zuko’s current protection team, and that the both of them are closest thing to childhood friends that Zuko has, why didn’t Zuko treat them with the respect they deserved? Especially since post-redemption Zuko is someone who is supposed to be empathetic and caring?

But moving on to the rest of The Search, how come after Zuko found out about the “bastard” letter, he didn’t burn it? For even if he did want to find out the truth, isn’t it more important that he prevents a civil war by not allowing his “illegitimacy” to become public knowledge, at least until he can give power to Iroh in the case that he was truly a bastard?

Or, even if he didn’t want to burn the letter until Ursa confirmed the accuracy of it, why would he allow Azula to keep it on her person? I mean, what would have happened if she had managed to escape with it on her person?

Sunshine and roses, or a bloody civil war that threatens to undo everything Zuko and his friends fought for in the war?

Which ties into my last point about Zuko’s behavior in The Search, which also serves segue into Smoke and Shadow: why the hell did Zuko not chase after Azula?!

For even if he would be risking his life and potentially Noriko’s, couldn’t Zuko have seen the danger in letting Azula free? Especially considering as far as he knew she still had the letter on her person?

Or, once Ursa had her face and memories restored, how come he didn’t leave Katara with Ursa and her family and search for Azula with Aang and Sokka?

Did Zuko forget that it was all his fault in the first place that his life, as well as Noriko’s, was in danger, and that he had a responsibility to the world, his country, and his friends to make sure Azula got back into his custody?

But anyway, even if Azula managed to free herself, at least she was no longer a threat to Zuko, his regime, and/or anyone he cares about?

Right?

Zuko (Smoke and Shadow)

After searching for Azula for a couple of weeks, he goes home and tells Ursa that he “tried".

But did he really? Cause if we take his word at face value, do you know what that means?

(Note: I think his statement could be interpreted to mean that him, Aang, Katara, and Sokka spent weeks searching the old fashioned way. But if that was the case, then in my opinion, he really didn’t try considering all the options he had. So I am taking Zuko’s statement at face value since it is the most positive interpretation of his statement.)

That means a mentally broken Azula with no allies or resources managed to avoid an Avatar State powered seismic sense, June’s shirshu, and Toph’s seismic sense, as well as anyone Iroh and/or the White Lotus sent over to help Zuko find his sister.

Do you know what that implies about the competency of everyone involved? How bad that makes them all look?

Anyway moving on, it appears that not only did Zuko fail to issue a public proclamation that Azula had escaped, but also failed to give Ty Lee and Mai, along with their families, protection.

For if he had issued a proclamation, maybe Azula would have been found earlier, instead of being able to break six girls out of her asylum, or manipulate the New Ozai Society (NOS)/Safe Nation Society. And in regards to Ty Lee and Mai, even if he felt they didn’t need protection while Azula was free, but by his side, the moment she managed to escape his custody, he should have given them and their families protection.

For Zuko didn’t know that Azula wasn’t seeking revenge. No, as far as Zuko knew, she probably was going to kill everyone between her and the throne, including everyone who "betrayed" her. And even if Zuko hadn’t seen Mai since their break up, Ty Lee is part of his protection detail, and thus he should have realized how paranoid and scared she was and asked her what he could have done to alleviate her fears, as well as her best friend Mai’s fears as well.

And Zuko still makes similar grave errors even after he finds out that Azula is behind the kidnappings, and that she had been manipulating the NOS/Safe Nation Society as part of a long-term plan to turn him into a tyrant.

For after Kiyi’s kidnapping, instead of issuing curfews, searching Caldera City citizens' homes without cause, and engaging in mass jailing of anyone who was on the streets when the Safe Nation Society was rioting, he instead should have called all of the Gaang and had Iroh call the White Lotus before starting an all out manhunt for Azula and her followers.

And he especially should have done this after she told him his plan and he found that Aang had gotten knocked out by Azula’s henchwomen.

For not only has Azula gotten rid of his trump card over her (lightning redirection), but also has become the GOAT lightning manipulator and H2H fighter in ATLA. That, combined with her and her Fire Warriors' smokebending abilities, makes her the biggest threat to Zuko’s throne and world peace.

Thus, Zuko should have spent every waking moment hunting down Azula instead of doing stupid shit like going on a diplomatic trip to the South Pole.

For I admit the image of the leaders and the most important people in the four (United Republic still not a thing as of North and South) nations eating with each other is a powerful one, but it is still hollow as long as the biggest threat to the post-world order is still roaming free and plotting to bring it to an end.

Aang (The Search)

Right off the bat, when Zuko told him about the whole blackmail situation, he should have either said ok, but call in Toph, as well as anyone else who he thought was needed, or told Zuko that finding his mother was not worth it since their was a chance, no matter how small, that Azula could escape before putting her back in the asylum himself.

For yeah, I know the first point sounds OOC, but Aang out of all people should know how dangerous Azula is (the lightning wounds on his left foot and back say hi), and therefore take proper precautions.

And yes, I know the second point sounds really OOC, but doesn’t Aang know that his duty isn’t to his friends, but to the world? And thus, even if it hurts, he has to prioritize the world’s safety over his friend’s well-being, and therefore not allow arguably the most dangerous, both politically and bending wise, non-Avatar person in the world any chance of escaping?

Especially when it appears the only thing Azula regrets is losing, and not any of the actions she took during the war?

But alas, this blatant disregard towards his duty as an Avatar continues not only when he finds that “bastard” letter with Zuko, but also when he fails to give chase to Azula after helping Ursa restore her face and memories.

For even after Zuko refused to burn the letter because he wanted to find out the truth, Aang should have taken the letter and burned it, or at least not let the letter get back into Azula’s hands.

For if that letter ever became public, it would ruin everything that Aang fought for in the war, for either Iroh, an old man who has no inclination to produce heirs as far as canon is concerned, would have to take the throne to prevent Ozai and/or Azula from taking it, or it would cause a massive civil war considering Zuko is already on thin ice with his subjects.

And once he helped Ursa restore her face, he should have entered the Avatar State and used his seismic sense before entering his elemental shield to look for Azula.

For even if Azula is mentally broken at that point, she is still a Top 4 fire-bender in the world with a strong claim to the throne, and thus getting her back into Zuko's custody should have been his highest priority. Not staying by Zuko’s side, especially now that he has been reunited with his mother and can adequately protect Ursa and her family now.

Aang (Smoke and Shadow)

Assuming that we take Zuko’s comments at face value about how he tried, what does that say about Aang that Azula not only managed to escape his Avatar State powered seismic sense, but also couldn’t find her, even with his elemental shield providing unmatched mobility?

But moving onto something that requires no assumptions: what he did, or didn’t, do after finding out that Azula was behind the Kemurikage kidnappings as well as in league with the New Ozai Society.

Why didn’t Aang call in the rest of the Gaang and/or the White Lotus to help him apprehend Azula? For the worst case scenario has happened, and Azula is actively working to restore the old regime, as far as Aang knows at this point, has become the strongest firebender and H2H fighter in the world, and has regained her sanity as far as he knows.

Considering all the harm Azula has caused, and is currently causing, how come Aang didn’t take every measure to make sure that Azula would get back into their custody as well as make sure the kidnapped kids were in no danger whatsoever?

How come when he went into that room to help rescue the kids, he didn’t have his guard up or enter the room with his elemental shield up?

For Aang knows that the Fire Warriors have smokebending abilities, it was smoke, combined with volcanic gases, that killed his predecessor, and that the Fire Warriors are seditious, mass child kidnappers in league with Azula.

So why didn’t Aang take them seriously?

For if Aang wasn’t protected by the fact that he has to die as a 66 year old man (LoK), after the Fire Warriors knocked him out, they would have killed him instead of monologuing just long enough for Mai and Kei Lo to save him by knocking out them.

And then what? A world without a fully realized Avatar that is liable to fall back into war long before his successor could be identified and become a fully realized Avatar. Especially if Azula killed Zuko after their crypt shuffle, therefore leaving no one really able to fight back against the Fire Warriors as they consolidate power and restart the Hundred Year War as far as Aang knows.

But most galling in my opinion is how Aang doesn’t drop everything and lead an all out manhunt for Azula and the Fire Warriors, especially once he found out that their true goal is to break Zuko and make him into a tyrant. For Aang out of all people should know what Azula is capable of when she is “sane."

So why does he fuck off?!

What is he going to say when the Fire Warriors do something irredeemable and/or unfixable, and so him and Zuko have to explain to the world why Azula got free in the first place, why they lied about her involvement with the Kemurikage kidnappings, and why she managed to avoid getting captured despite no longer having a nation-state backing her, her lack of resources in general considering she is a homeless, penniless fugitive, and the fact that she is no match for the Avatar State, or even a bloodlusted four element Aang?

Mai

A lot of people hate on Mai, calling her a bad, high-maintenance girlfriend who doesn’t understand Zuko and is an undeveloped character, among other things.

But I think TV!show Mai was a loving girlfriend who was trying her best with a boyfriend dealing with his severe trauma on top of his precarious position in court before ultimately betraying her and their country without any warning from her POV.

Moreover, for a tertiary character, I think her arc is short, sweet, and powerful. This is because Mai was a girl who was heavily implied to be forced into an abusive friendship for the sake of her father’s political career in addition to having to suppress her true emotions. But, thanks to her boyfriend having the courage to stand up against their abusers, she learns to stand up against her abuser while also helping her real best friend find the courage to also stand up against their mutual abuser, and is on the path to healing and learning how to establish healthy relationships.

In other words, Mai learns that she doesn’t have to put her head down and ignore her emotions or capacity for love. And it is this realization that allows her to help create a better world for herself, her boyfriend, her best friend, and the rest of the world, including her own nation once they come to the same realizations as she has.

But instead of continuing on that path, the comics have her completely forget the realization she had and have her behave OOC, in my opinion, in several contexts.

For even if she, like Ty Lee, were completely done dirty by Zuko in that he let Azula free without asking them how they felt about it before losing her and having the gall to not assign 24/7 protection to them and their families until he recovers her, it doesn’t excuse the fact that she hid from Zuko/the proper authorities the existence of the New Ozai Society, and the fact that her father and “boyfriend” were members of it, with her father leading and funding it as well.

For it is quite obvious what are the out-of-universe explanations for why Mai didn’t go straight to the palace after The Rebound and tell Zuko, but there is no good-in universe answer that is inline with her previously established character.

(In my opinion, the out-of-universe explanations for why Mai didn't go straight to the palace after The Rebound was so that Azula, who no longer has a nation-state backing her, would have the means and funds to manipulate terrorist groups, as well as house her kidnapped kids as part of her longer plot to make Zuko snap.)

For when did Mai suddenly care about her father to the point that she was willing to commit treason by supporting, or at least covering up, his seditious plot?

For didn’t Mai, when she committed treason at in Boiling Rock, essentially betray her father and the rest of her family in favor of Zuko?

Moreover, why would she prioritize her father and his potential political power considering what would happen if Ozai ever got back into power? For I know Avatar is a children’s franchise ,but I am pretty sure one of Ozai’s first acts once he got back on the throne after he killing Zuko, Ursa, Iroh, Noren, and Kiyi would be killing Mai and Ty Lee for their treason.

Especially considering that if she hadn’t turned when she did, half the Gaang would have died and Ozai would have very likely won the war. For without Aang learning lightning redirection, unless rock-kun (rock-kun is the younger cousin of Naruto’s swing-kun) intervenes much earlier, Aang dies to Ozai’s lightning spam, and no one else on the remaining Team Avatar is a match for Comet!Ozai except in the very unlikely chance Katara manages to develop 24/7 bloodbending in the aftermath of Aang's lost.

But alas, Mai decides to act in an OOC manner and hides from Zuko the existence of the New Ozai Society/Safe Nation Society until her Zuko’s half-sister, along with her brother, have been kidnapped by the Fire Warriors after Zuko, Ursa, Noren, and Kiyi barely survived a New Ozai Society ambush.

And by barely, I mean if it wasn’t for the combination of Ukano’s monologue, Kei Lo’s last minute heel-face turn, and Zuko managing to bullshit the greatest non-Avatar fire redirection feat in the franchise, Zuko and his family would have been burned to death and/or brutally stabbed to death.

But even more galling, when confronted with her treason, Mai claims that Zuko out of all people should know how hard it is to betray your father, as if there wasn’t a difference between betraying the all powerful ruler of your country who has a cult of personality, has burned you before, can quickly fire off lethal amounts of lightning on command, and has said before he wanted to kill you, versus betraying your mentally and physically weak father who rejected being integrated into the new government and seeks to put someone back in power who would likely kill you for committing treason against him.

Especially since Zuko accepts her explanation, and no one in-universe or the narrative ever again challenges Mai on why she committed treason.

For I understand that Mai is a tertiary character, and thus can’t have the same narrative focus in regards to her redemption arc like Zuko. But if the narrative is going to treat Mai as a hundred percent redeemed good guy, she should be held to the same standards and be criticized when she acts in a villainous manner.

But yet again, the comics fail to challenge Zuko for almost restarting the Hundred Year War instead of calmly showing Aang and Kuei why he revoked his unconditional support for the Harmony Restoration Movement, so why should we expect any “hero” to face any criticism?

Ukano

How come Ukano was willing to work with Azula to restore Ozai for the sake of his nation and family when not only is Fire Lord Zuko indebted to him for life due to Mai saving him at the Boiling Rock, not to mention the fact that Zuko offered him a job when his governorship disappeared after Bumi retook Omashu, but also when one of the first things Ozai would do after taking back power is killing Mai for her treason?

(In my opinion, it is clear that after Zuko’s defection, the only acceptable punishment for treason under Ozai's regime was death, with no chance for life in prison like Iroh had.)

What is Ukano’s plan for dealing with a fully realized Avatar considering that Ozai with Sozin’s Comet got utterly stomped by Aang? I don’t think it is wise, or in line with someone leading a vast seditious conspiracy, to rely on Azula getting another cheap shot on Aang, or the Fire Warriors managing to get one over Aang using their smokebending.

Also, as a matter of storytelling, why should I root for his heel-face turn and acceptance of his prison sentence when one of the last things he does before being sent to prison is subtly imply that he was manipulated/coerced by Azula?

For in-universe, didn’t Ukano have several opportunities to tell Aang and Zuko about the kidnapped kids? And out-of-universe, even if Azula is extremely dangerous, it is kind of pathetic to hear a grown-ass man essentially be bullied by a bunch of mentally ill teenagers.

I mean, how would you react if someone in a similar situation tried pulling Ukano’s excuse?

Would you show sympathy towards them, or instead viciously mock them?

But in any case, how am I supposed to feel that, even if Ukano has to go to jail, he at least did good by standing up to Azula and her followers, if Ukano tries to deflect blame by blaming Azula?

I mean, would Zuko's apology to the Gaang during The Western Air Temple feel as sincere if he blamed Azula’s manipulations and the promise of his father’s love for why he acted the way he did during The Crossroads of Destiny, even if they were valid explanations for his behavior?

Would the audience have so readily accepted Zuko into the Gaang if Zuko didn’t take sole responsibility for his actions?

Ozai and Ursa (The Letter)

Note: Ursa is a kidnapping victim who is highly implied to never had consensual sex with Ozai, and thus her kids were highly likely to be conceived without her consent. All that trauma, combined with the fact that Ozai had all the power in the household in addition to his emotional and, heavily implied by the artwork, physical abuse, explains almost all of her bad parenting decisions and behavior towards Azula and Zuko...except for what I am going to describe below down below in my opinion. So the point of this is just to make it clear that I don’t blame Ursa for what went wrong in Zuko’s or Azula’s life, for the responsibility solely lies on Azulon and Ozai’s shoulders. I am just criticizing one particular choice she made in-universe and the creators’ out-of-universe decision to make her act in that fashion.

Most people talk about the letter in relation to Zuko and how it affects him, but I have a very hot take: the letter only really exists to allow Azula to be a credible antagonist during The Search considering her still mentally broken state and the fact that Zuko, Katara, and/or Aang were keeping eyes on her at all times.

That and to also facilitate a means for Azula to get free of her restraints and eventually escape Zuko’s custody, because without blackmailing Zuko, Azula would have never been free, unbound, and treated with dignity.

Also, the letter serves to unnecessarily woobify Zuko, but that is not the focus of this post.

So with that in mind, let's delve into what that letter implies Ursa and Ozai’s characters.

In regards to Ursa, I find it hard to believe that someone who basically begged for her son’s life and constantly shielded him to the best of her abilities would reckless endanger his life by writing a letter that claimed Ikem, not Ozai, was his father.

For Ursa, out of all people, should know that she, along with Zuko, only have value to the Royal Family if Zuko is Ozai’s kid. And that if Ozai was so inclined, he could have used the letter to kill her and/or Zuko.

And even if it is a hundred percent Ozai’s fault that he used the letter as an excuse to essentially treat Zuko as a bastard, though personally I think Ozai just continued treated Zuko the way he previously did and just said that to further emotionally abuse Ursa, why would Ursa ever give Ozai the means to (further) torment her beloved son? Especially when she knows Ozai, and most likely Azulon considering how quick he was to order Zuko’s death to punish Ozai, has it out for Zuko?

In regards to Ozai, the letter, and what he did and didn’t do with it, makes him even more incompetent than what previous canon suggested.

For even if he couldn’t have used the letter during Azulon’s reign to get rid of Zuko and/or Ursa due to, for example, fear of retaliation from Azulon due to being a “cuck”, how come he didn’t use the letter to disinherit Zuko, instead of burning Zuko and having to cover it up?

Or, after Zuko went full traitor, how come Ozai didn’t use the letter to ensure that Zuko could never inherit the throne...at least through his claim as Ozai’s son (Iroh could have adopted Zuko and then abdicated in favor of him)?

Iroh

I understand that Iroh is technically retired and doesn’t have to do anything. Moreover, I understand that the adults in child/teenage led action-adventure series can’t really be as proactive and/or responsible as IRL adults due to the constraints of the genre.

But Iroh is still involved in politics as seen by his willingness to serve as Zuko’s temporary Fire Lord when Zuko is gone. Moreover, Legacy of The Fire Nation does say that Iroh is still a White Lotus Grandmaster during the period the White Lotus becomes the Avatar world’s version of the UN Peacekeepers.

So with that in mind, we can criticize his lack of proactiveness in regards to Azula. For even taking away the assumption that Iroh offered the White Lotus’ help to find Azula after she ran into the Forgetful Valley, how come after Azula has been found to be masterminding the Kemurikage kidnappings, or after Azula revealed her plan to turn Zuko into a dictator, Iroh didn’t drop everything, call up the White Lotus, and lead a manhunt to find the Fire Warriors?

For not only is Azula the biggest threat to world peace and balance in their world, but also is the biggest threat to Zuko's throne and safety. Especially after she eliminated Iroh and Zuko’s one trump card over her (lightning redirection) and is arguably way stronger, at least as a combatant, than Ozai ever was.

For someone who lost his son and watched his beloved nephew get abused due to the effects of the Fire Nation’s imperialism and authoritarianism, why doesn’t Iroh make sure that the horrors of the past stay in the past? Especially when he has the power, means, and connections this time around to make sure no one ever gets hurt again due to the Fire Nation's imperialist and authoritarian ideologies?

Ty Lee

In regards to The Search, Ty Lee was mistreated by Zuko when he first took Azula out without asking her or Mai about their feelings, and then further mistreated when he had the gall to lose her without granting her and Mai, along with their families, 24/7 protection.

Though if Ty Lee is as much of a chi-blocking master as the narrative implies, when she warned Zuko that Azula’s chi-blocking was wearing off, she should have also warned him that there would be a period of time that Azula would be super flexible and have full control of her muscles and chi.

For even if Ty Lee had no idea that Azula had apparently learned instant lightning in the time she spent in the asylum, Azula is still capable of short bursts of fire that could have disoriented Zuko, leading to a similar outcome as to what actually happened in canon once Azula had the above period of time.

But moving on to something much more concrete, Ty Lee remembering the Fire Nation Palace’s secret tunnels and being able to locate the one leading to Azula’s secret lair has some very negative implications about her.

For even if she says it in a really roundabout way, The Sisters comics has Ty Lee say that the reason she joined the Kyoshi Warriors was to make up for the imperialism she helped perpetuate under Azula’s command.

Moreover, the Kyoshi Warriors agreed to be Zuko’s bodyguards in order to help protect the fragile peace that the Gaang helped establish at the end of the war. And in order to do that means that they have to be able to secure the Fire Nation Royal Palace to the best of their abilities.

However, despite knowing about the secret tunnels, Ty Lee apparently never mentioned them in the year that the Kyoshi Warriors had been in the Fire Nation.

(The Promise takes place one year after Sozin’s Comet Part 4; The Kyoshi Warriors become Zuko’s bodyguards during The Promise; The Search takes place one year after The Search with the main plot of Smoke and Shadow taking place a couple of months after the climax of The Search).

And this leads to not only the Fire Warriors being able to walk into the palace and almost kidnap Kiyi unmolested (in fact, if it wasn’t for their smoke, the Fire Warriors would have kidnapped Kiyi without anyone being wiser), but also for an entire conspiracy to operate right under their noses.

Not to mention what could have happened if the Fire Warriors were a little less mentally ill and used the fact that they had access to secret tunnels that no one knew about to do the obvious: carry out covert assassinations of all their enemies, which, depending on the time, could include important foreign figures like Aang, Katara, and Sokka.

Making things worse is that just like Mai really wasn’t challenged narratively or by anyone in-universe for her treason, Ty Lee is never challenged by the narrative or by her fellow Warriors, Zuko, and/or Aang for knowing about a gaping security hole and not telling anyone about it earlier.

I mean, the lack of knowledge of the secret tunnels could help, partially at least, explain why Zuko faced so many assassination attempts like Kori’s that got frighteningly close to killing him.

For instead of his original guard being disloyal and/or incompetent, they instead could have had a lack of knowledge about the tunnels, and thus didn’t know how to properly seal them off and/or monitor them for threats.

Like I understand Azula being free probably impacted her ability to think rationally, for Ty Lee all but says she hasn’t had a peaceful night of sleep ever since Azula got out, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that she forgot to tell anyone about this security gap beforehand.

For doesn’t Ty Lee have a professional and moral duty to protect the Fire Nation Royal Palace and the Fire Nation Royal Family to the best of her abilities?

Kei Lo

I don’t hold him to the same standards as the heroes and outright adults in this analysis since most of Rebound and Smoke and Shadow was about his heel-face turn and redemption arc.

But there is one thing that does bother me about post-redemption Kei Lo’s actions, and that is when he attacked Azula in the Garden of Tranquil Souls without any apparent plan and got himself turned into a (brief) hostage.

For I understand that it was a moment to not only show how much far Kei Lo had changed, but also to showcase Azula's evilness by mocking Mai’s taste in men and implicitly threatening his life for daring to touch her/interrupt her bullying, assault, and psychological torture of Mai “dialogue” with Mai.

But looking at Kei Lo’s actions from the bigger picture, they don’t really make sense, or paint a good picture of Kei Lo at all.

For Kei Lo had not only seen Mai defeat an entire NOS hideout with a toddler strapped to her back, but also was the last person she fought before she left (spoiler alert: it was a total curb stomp battle).

Moreover, during the time he spent dating Mai and spent with Zuko and Aang, it is highly unlikely that the topic of Azula didn’t come up, even if there were no comic panels showing us this (when you have limited space, you can’t waste panels on “superfluous” dialogue), and therefore should have known that, just like Mai is way out of his league in terms of combat prowess, Azula is similarly beyond his abilities.

In addition, even if he didn’t believe what people mostly likely told him about Azula, he should have believed his own eyes as he watched Azula basically toy with Mai despite Mai actually fighting with true lethal intent.

(I know some people might disagree with me, but I think the art makes it clear that Mai was trying to kill Azula, and not just pin her).

And finally, instead of rationally thinking and trying to get Zuko and/or Aang’s attention so someone way more equipped could rescue Mai, he instead charges at Azula. But instead of using his knife, or trying to get Azula into a chokehold, Kei Lo instead just shoves her, allowing Azula to not only shoot him with concussive lightning, but also then hold him at firepoint, thus forcing Mai, who had been able to stand up to Azula, albeit terribly, to basically beg for Kei Lo’s life and leave herself vulnerable to Azula’s attacks as well.

For I know they are not analogous situations, but what Kei Lo did reminds me of dumbasses who try to intervene in active shooter situations, thinking they can be the hero, but end up making things worse due to being taken hostage, if they aren’t outright killed, making a peacefully resolution that much harder for the relevant authorities.

Likewise, Kei Lo, by getting himself taken hostage, could have, and should have as far as he knew, led to a nasty outcome.

For as far as he knows, Azula is a sadistic, seditious, child killing, child kidnapping, genocidal domestic terrorist who has no qualms about killing or cruelly treating “friends” and family. And so what is not to say that Azula wouldn’t have tortured him to get back at Mai and/or tortured Mai in front of him, forcing Mai to take her cruel punishment in order to prevent Azula from killing her boyfriend?

Kei Lo is very lucky that Zuko intervened when he did, and is even more lucky that Azula was more interested in making her brother “strong” than really hurting anyone.

But instead of showing everyone berating him after the kids had been rescued, there instead was no narrative time spent at all.

Which leads me to believe that that particular moment happened, in part, just to showcase how vile Azula is, despite in not being in line, in my opinion, with the conscientious and aware person Kei Lo seemed to be growing into, as seen when he broke up with Mai when he realized that, despite her words otherwise, she could never get over Zuko.

Sokka and Katara

There isn’t much to say other than they were the only ones who interacted with Comics!Azula who treated her like the threat she.

That and it was obvious they were written out of Smoke and Shadow before Azula's involvement with the kidnappings was revealed because if they were still in the Fire Nation when it happened, Azula and her girl gang would be back in jail instead of remaining menaces to society.

Or at least they would have had to work much harder during the climax (ex. The Fire Warriors, including Azula, would have had to fight with lethal intent).

Toph

Other than the assumption that Toph helped Zuko search for Azula after the climax of The Search, all I have to say is that there is a good reason why Toph has not really shown up in any of the comics Azula has been in.

And that is because Toph would have never tolerated any of Azula’s bullshit, or treated her with kid gloves instead of the genocidal war criminal who is still trying to negatively influence Fire Nation politics that she is as of current canon.

Other World Leaders

Note: Yes, there is no evidence that Azula was part of the war council meeting that ordered the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. But considering how comfortable Azula was in the “let's burn down the Earth Kingdom” war council meeting, plus the fact that Iroh thought it was appropriate for a 13 year old Zuko to partake in a war council meeting, I don’t think it is that much of a leap to assume that Azula was part of the war council meeting that ordered the Northern Water Tribe attack.

From Kuei’s perspective, Azula led a coup that ended with him in exile before suggesting and helping plan a genocide of his people. From Hakoda’s perspective, Azula almost killed both of his children several times. From Chief Arnook’s perspective, Azula was part of the war council that decided to not only invade his country, but also kill the Moon Spirit, which indirectly forced his beloved daughter to sacrifice her life to restore said spirit.

So once Azula gets into Zuko’s custody, shouldn’t they have established monitoring protocols to make sure that Zuko, who had less than six months ago willingly worked with her to conqueror Ba Sing Se, as well help her kill Aang, keeps one of the most dangerous war criminals in their world locked up while also establishing contingency plans to deal with scenarios in which Azula escapes?

Especially since Aang took mercy on her and didn’t remove her bending, meaning that Azula could grow stronger if she ever escapes (though I guess being in an asylum does allow for exponential growth anyway...) and eventually be able to get a cheap shot on Aang again before violently retaking the throne and restarting the Hundred Year War?

But instead of doing that, they instead naively trust that Zuko will keep Azula locked up without any check-ups (none of Zuko’s interactions with Kuei or Hadoka ever imply the topic of Azula’s status ever comes up). And while I understand the meta-reason for this (so it is more believable that Azula could remain an undetectable fugitive), it still has the potential to make them all look really, really bad.

For what happens, for example, if the Fire Warriors create an international false flag terrorist attack that gets people from the other nations killed, in addition to Fire Nationals, that leads to a short skirmish that gets even more people killed before the Fire Warriors are found to be the true culprits and dealt with?

For even if they manage to capture the Fire Warriors, how are the world leaders going to explain to their subjects/citizens the lack of security measures they took in ensuring that Azula stayed in jailed, or, if she ever escaped, the lack of plans to make sure she was apprehended as swiftly as possible?

Moreover, how are they going to explain the fact that they naively wholeheartedly trusted Zuko to make sure that Azula remained in prison, or, if she escaped, that he would tell them and ask for their help if needed in apprehending her, instead of trying to cover up the fact that it was his selfish desire to find Mommy that gave the most dangerous person on the planet the means to escape?

Especially after the Yu Dao fiasco showed that Zuko might not be the most trustworthy or reliable partner?

Do any of them take their responsibilities seriously!? No, and that is why the Red Lotus had a point, for why should a bunch of clowns be in charge of nation-states if they can’t even use state power to properly protect people?

Bending and Combat

One of the more endearing things about Avatar is the fact that its combat and magic system is based on IRL martial arts. And this is reflected in the fact that all of the named prodigies except for Katara and Sokka, who likely the greatest prodigies in the franchise in terms of speed of skill acquisition and mastery, have undergone years of rigorous training to be the master benders and fighters that they are shown to be in the show.

Moreover, the show explains that bending and fighting are not just martial arts, but also are spiritual practices as well, and that the more spiritually in tune you are, the stronger your combat prowess will be. And that the less spiritual and/or the more out of balance you are, the weaker your combat prowess will be.

For not only does your mental state affect things like your breathing or tactics, but also your willingness to incorporate other styles of bending/fighting into yours as well.

And the show makes it very clear that the strongest and best benders/fighters incorporate all the other styles of bending.

Finally, the show, whenever it introduced new bending/fighting techniques and/or power ups, made sure they didn’t contradict what was previously established (ex. metalbending is possible only because most metal still has pieces of unrefined earth in them; chi-blocking is possible because everything has chi in it; etc.), or gave them logical weaknesses to make sure they weren’t completely game breaking (ex. Lightning redirection does negate lightning generation, but you need to be in the proper stance and make sure the lightning never touches your heart, or else you will still die; chi-blocking only works if you can touch someone; etc.).

But the comics, in an effort to keep Azula a credible threat, seem to disregard all of the previously established rules and themes about bending, and in doing so leaves the Avatar franchise in a worse off state.

For why was Azula, after spending at least a year in an asylum where it can be presumed she wasn’t able to train like she used to, didn’t have anywhere near the same resources, and went further into psychosis, able to retain her physicality and remain the hyper-athletic fighter she was during the war?

Moreover, how did Azula get so strong and fast during her time in the asylum, and later in the wilderness as a fugitive, to the point that she is arguably the best H2H fighter in Avatar?

For not only did Azula manage to hold off a serious and in armor post-war Suki and Ty Lee despite wearing a billowing cape and a mask that blocked vision in her left eye, but also managed to consistently and causally dodge Mai’s knives despite the latter actually trying to kill her.

Not to mention how she managed to overpower Zuko, who was arguably the second best sword fighter in the franchise before having two years to add to his sword fighting prowess, in their short fire-sword fight in the crypt to the point that Zuko thought he could only prevent his death by convincing Azula that no one would ever accept her on the throne.

Zuko! You know, the person who literally has to be knocked out and/or dying before giving up in a fight, did not believe he could get out of Azula’s hold before she presumably stabbed him to death.

How come Azula’s fire managed to not only get stronger (ex. during the war, if she released her fire from her control, it became orange, but after the asylum, it stays blue), but also why was she able to develop several new lightning techniques, several of which where completely unseen in the franchise, or hadn’t been seen for centuries as far as the reader was concerned (ex. concussive lightning; instant lightning; quick charge lightning; lightning sphere; a bootleg chidori; instant area of effect lightning; lightning zaps; the ability to split and control her stream of lightning after she has fired it; lightning redirection)?

And speaking of new lightning techniques, how did Azula manage to learn the lightning redirection technique on her own? For none of Iroh, Zuko, and Aang ever showed her the technique, and Azula only saw the technique like four times (Iroh on the ship during The Avatar State; Zuko during Sozin’s Comet; Zuko twice during The Search).

And as far as I remember, the TV show never implied or showed that Azula was a Goku-level prodigy in that she only had to look at technique only a handful of times to completely master it and/or develop a counter to it.

Not to mention the fact that Azula is still a hyper-nationalist who still has no respect for the other nations, let alone their bending arts.

Like have you seen all the times she calls Sokka and Katara snow peasants, despite the two of them technically being her equal politically and Katara not only defeating her during Sozin’s Comet, but also almost defeating her during The Crossroads of Destiny as well? Does comics!Azula seem like the person to willingly incorporate waterbending principles into her bending, which is necessary to redirect lightning?

Also, what the hell is smokebending?! For I know in the Kyoshi novels, Kyoshi bends smoke as part of her first attempt at firebending, and that Aang generated smoke during The Firebending Master, so smokebending is a subset of firebending as the seeming precursor to firebending itself.

But how did the Fire Warriors manage to learn how to psychically generate and manipulate smoke?

Moreover, how did the Fire Warriors manage to learn how to use smokebending while also using their firebending at the same time?

For as far as I know, other than Azula in the Smoke and Shadow Omnibus Cover, there is no other instance as far as I know of a non-Avatar bending an element and a sub-element at the same time. So how were they able to do so?

And how come Aang and Zuko, two master firebenders, one of which is also a master airbender, were not able to do anything about the Fire Warrior’s smoke?

For shouldn’t they have been able to use their bending to clear the smoke instead of either choking on it (Aang) or allowing Azula to escape despite being a crypt with only one exit (Zuko)?

But I think the most frustrating thing is how strong the Fire Warriors are. For yes, I understand that the Gaang aren’t the only prodigies in the world, and that for a children’s action-adventure series, it is hard to write conflicts if the heroes face no physical challenges whatsoever.

But there is no justification both in-universe or out of it for why the Fire Warriors are so strong both in terms of bending and athleticism. Especially considering the fact they were heavily implied to have been kept in the same conditions that Azula was, and thus shouldn’t have been able to train to an elite master level, and the fact that they too were wearing long billowing capes with their left eyes blocked by their wood masks.

In fact, this ties into my next point...

Fire Warriors and the Asylum System

How was Azula able to break out six girls from her old asylum without Zuko finding out? For even assuming that Azula killed everyone there, eventually someone had to have come and find out about the slaughter. Especially when, assuming he really did try to find Azula, one of the things Zuko would have done is put extra guards there since it was likely that Azula would try to return there.

But instead of getting an answer on how Azula was able to break them out without anyone finding out, other than the meta-textual answer of Azula needed a new girl gang and the only people who she could have plausibly convinced considering her living conditions of the past year were her fellow asylum inmates, instead all we are left with is speculation, some of which implies some very nasty things about Zuko’s reign and the Fire Nation.

Like the idea that the asylum system remained in control of Ozai loyalists and are currently weaponizing the inmates to create a shadow army to overthrow Zuko using the group of people Zuko and his regime would be least likely to suspect.

And speaking of speculation, what are the Fire Warriors’ motivations and/or goals in regards to joining Azula’s ongoing seditious domestic terrorism plot? For I understand that Azula needs new henchwomen in order to carry out her plots since it would break suspension of disbelief to have Azula carry them out by herself, but neither non-ableist explanation I could think of makes any sense.

For either they are scared of her and/or being manipulated, but that doesn’t make sense since Azula no longer has any political power, and thus they can ignore her once she breaks them out. Not to mention Azula doesn’t seem to have regained all of her mental faculties (ex. her Mochi rant during Smoke and Shadow and how her eyes bulge out like crazy!Azula in The Search at the end of it).

Or because she became non-ironic friends with them, which doesn’t make sense since Azula during her time in the asylum was clearly not in the mental state to take care of herself, let alone make friends not relying on her status or fear mongering. Especially when The Search has Azula blame “Ursa” for making Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee stop fearing her, heavily implying Azula still thinks fear is a good way to maintain relationships.

Which leaves us with the ableist answer (sorry for the language, it is to get my point across): they are crazy bitches, and crazy bitches don’t need any reason to do harm!

And do you know how harmful that is to IRL mentally ill people? For mentally ill people have had to fight really, really hard to fight the association that being mentally ill makes you evil or prone to evil. And it is only recently they have been able to fight back against such associations thanks in part due to positive representations in various artistic works.

So it makes me really disappointed that Avatar, a franchise that handles several difficult topics (ex. child abuse, rescue parents, imperialism/colonialism, child soldiers, physical disabilities, war orphans, sexism, misogyny, hyper-nationalism, genocide, abusive sibling relationships, abusive friendships, etc.) with such grace that even children can clearly understand and learn from them, engaged in such harmful stereotyping. Especially when one of the most highly regarded arcs in LoK is Korra overcoming her PTSD from being poisoned with mercury over the course of several years and with the help of several people.

For at least Azula, with all the cries of ableism about her treatment in the comics and other post-canon works like Legacy of The Fire Nation, has reasons for being evil other than her mental illness.

Like the fact that she was indoctrinated and groomed from birth to be an active member of the ruling family of an authoritarian, genocidal, imperialist empire.

But what are the Fire Warrior’s reasons for helping Azula outside of being mentally ill?

Themes (The Search)

To be quite honest, I really don’t think The Search has a theme since it mostly exists to answer the question of what happened to Ursa. So I don’t think there is much to analyze or criticize in terms of themes.

Themes (Smoke and Shadow)

However, Smoke and Shadow does have a central theme: fear, or more specifically, getting over the fear of: Ozai (for Ursa), Azula, and/or being a tyrant (in Zuko’s case).

And in regards to Ozai, I think Smoke and Shadow actually did a good job of showing Ursa getting over her fear of Ozai. In fact, I think their confrontation in Ozai’s jail cell, with Ozai being reduced to a mad dog after seeing he has no hold on Ursa anymore, is one of the few good things that come out of the comics.

But in regards to the other two themes, which are heavily tied to each in my opinion, are butchered by the need to keep Azula a credible villain.

For I think fear does serve a valid purpose: to make sure we avoid situations and/or people that are likely to put ourselves or the people we love in danger.

And boy do a lot of people have a lot to fear about post-Smoke and Shadow.

Mai and Ty Lee have every reason to continue to fear Azula after Azula basically humiliated them in combat and made it very clear that they are only still alive because she wants them to be. Not to mention in Mai’s case, Azula basically bullied Ukano into action, causing her father to eventually have to go to jail for a long time, and kidnapped her brother before put him in a holding cell for a good period of time.

Aang has ever reason to continue to fear Azula considering she has several lightning attacks that can bypass lightning redirection, the fact that Azula herself knows lightning redirection, the fact that Azula has smokebending powers similar to the Fire Warriors that knocked him out cold, and that Azula has successful shown that she can cause Zuko to fall down the path of his ancestors, meaning that Azula could eventually succeed and indirectly wipe out everything Aang and his friends fought for during the war.

Zuko has ever reason to fear Azula considering that: she basically broke into the palace and operated a conspiracy right under his nose; she kidnapped a bunch of kids, including their half-sister, and he could do nothing about it until Ty Lee remembered the secret passageway; that she has taken away his trump card over her and has essentially become the strongest firebender in history; that he is only alive because Azula has plans for him; and that she is still loose and plotting the next step in her dastardly plot to remake him in her image.

Moreover, Zuko has every reason to fear turning into a tyrant since he not only has he failed to capture the Fire Warriors post-Smoke and Shadow, but also failed to show that he won’t fall prey to the Fire Warriors manipulations and assaults other than give a flowery, but ultimately meaningless, apology speech at the end of Smoke and Shadow.

For he doesn’t order a sweep of his government to make sure that there aren’t any more mavericks like Constable Sung in his ranks.

He doesn’t try to craft policies to ensure the various Ozai loyalists groups can’t take advantage of alienated people like Kei Lo to fill their ranks with people willing to die since they have nothing in life.

He doesn’t institute any safeguards or protocols to make sure that if he has to ever institute authoritarian measures ever again, he does so because it was the best and logical decision possible, and not out of fear.

He hasn’t undergone training (ex. combine his firebending with his sword skills as is implied in the “Old Friends” artwork) to close the gap that has once again opened between him and Azula so that if he ever encounters her again, his life won’t be in her hands once again.

Hell! People like Iroh, Noren and Ursa have a lot to fear considering that Azula easily breached the palace, one of the most secure places in the world, and probably has other means of getting in undetected, even if the tunnels are now known, since she was responsible for evacuating Caldera City during the The Day of Black Sun, and has demonstrated continued willingness to not only hurt Zuko, but also Kiyi as well.

Moreover, assuming they ever find out where the other Fire Warriors came from, they will, and should considering their eras’ lack of knowledge on mental health, fear the inmates in the asylum system.

For if six of them were willing to join Azula and were really strong benders who could even knock out a fully realized Aang, what will happen, hypothetically, when Azula builds herself an army out of the asylum inmates she and her warriors break out of the various asylums in the country?

So I guess what I am trying to say is that, by keeping Azula a villain, Smoke and Shadow undermined its own theme of “we have to learn to live with fear and never let it rule us”.

For only fools would not live in fear of Azula and the Fire Warriors until they are apprehended, and I don’t think any of the characters mentioned in this section are big enough fools to underestimate what Azula and the Fire Warriors can do and what they are willing to do to achieve their goals.

Conclusion

Azula was one of the best villains in Western Animation, and part of that is because the characters and the narrative treated her like the threat she was, and that, even if her schemes did need some good fortune (ex. Sokka vouching for the Kyoshi Warriors before leaving with Aang to go his father), they still relied on various characters acting like they did normally, and not in OOC fashion (ex. Kuei is an airheaded fool, and so it is not out of character for Kuei to forget that he told Azula about the DoBS invasion plan and/or tell anyone associated with the plan that he spilled the beans before going on exile) just so she could win.

Moreover, Azula doesn’t display new abilities when the plot demands it just to remain a threat; all she does is exploit her previously established abilities and intelligence/cunning.

For example, the Avatar is slowly floating up in the air in his Avatar State that is previously established to turn him into a berserking force of nature. Ok. I’ll just take advantage of the fact that he is exposed to shoot him dead with lightning before he can harm my allies, my friends, my brother, and/or me.

However, in the comics, Azula, despite remaining just as big as a threat, if not bigger, is not treated as such by either the narrative or the characters she interacts with. Moreover, Azula and her henchwomen frequently come up with new powers just so they remain a credible threat. And it not only ruins Azula as a villain, but also the characters that she has the misfortune of interacting with directly or indirectly.

For it really hurt to see a fully realized Aang essentially get knocked out by some faceless goons.

It really hurt to see Mai break up with Zuko because he visited Ozai without telling her, and then hide from him the existence of the New Ozai Society and the fact that her father was leading it. Not to mention, when confronted for her treason, seeing her avoid owning her mistake before everyone unceremoniously dropped the subject.

It really hurt to see post-war Suki and Ty Lee, two of the best H2H fighters who have learned each other's techniques, essentially get fodderized by a half-blind Azula. Or to see Azula learn lightning redirection with no indication of how she managed to learn the technique. Or to see her invent concussive lightning because the comics want her to spam her iconic lightning at everyone like the villain she is, but don’t want to deal with the consequences previously established in the TV show or in LoK.

It made me angry to see Zuko keep giving Azula second chance after second chance when Azula deserves no chances as long as she is on her current path. Especially when she keeps on hurting the people Zuko supposedly loves, and the subjects he supposedly cares about.

Anyway, before my rant gets too long, the point is that not that Azula can’t remain a good villain. For even I, as someone who believes an Azula redemption would be compelling, believe there are ways to keep Azula a credible antagonist in line with what was shown in the TV show.

But if this is the way Azula is going to be continued to be written as a villain, as a living plot device, I don’t want her to remain a villain.

Especially when the bad writing surrounding villain!Azula starts to ruin other characters' previously established characterization, as well as previously established world building and lore.

5 notes · View notes