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Katara was not only one of the best written and multifaceted characters in the show, she also has the best character foil in the show: Azula.

For Azula is the mentally ill and unloved version of Katara in that she tries her best to replace her mother’s role in their family. In fact, the old nick site says Azula was renowned in court, and it is plausible she did the duties that Ursa should have done as Fire Lady.

And we see in Katara a girl who not only was very similar to Azula in circumstance (powerful bender, daughter of a leader, have hot headed older bros who like weapons and whose (final) GFs are warriors), but also someone who essentially moved into the gap her mother left, at least unconsciously.

But the key difference between the two was that Katara was raised with love and taught empathy was a strength while Azula was raised in the exact opposite manner, and thus is not capable of love or empathy, or at least can’t express it in a healthy way.

For if Azula had Katara’s emotional maturity and stability, then Azula’s group would not have needed fear to stay together, and it would not have fallen apart as they found causes to fight for (Zuko) or people to protect (Mai and Ty Lee).

Thus, it makes perfect narrative sense why Katara was the one to defeat Azula; in essence Azula lost to person she could have been if the war never happened while Katara defeated the person she could have become if she wallowed in her hate and anger.

Moreover, the fact that Katara could/would defeat comet!Azula is foreshadowed multiple times, first when Katara almost kills Azula in the catacombs, and then when Katara saves Zuko in The Southern Raiders and stares at Azula.

People say the first instance is PIS, but I think it is well justified by the fact that Azula probably trained to deal with only other firebenders (so she could win Agni Kais if challenged in the future) and Earthbenders (they where the only major combatants left) since the SWT waterbenders where thought to be extinct while the NWT was isolated. So when Azula fought Katara in the catacombs, it was the first time she had fought in an extensive fight with a true waterbending master

(No, I don’t think S2 Aang is a waterbending master).

Not to mention, waterbending, with its focus on turning offense in defense, and vice versa, is the perfect counter balance to Azula’s “offense is the best defense” style of off-balance and dynamic firebending.

And the second instance not only shows how Zuko now has a loving (found) family of mutual/loving friends, while Azula has managed to push her bro and friends away, but also notice the stare Katara and Azula are giving to each other. Katara wants to get back at the person who killed Aang while Azula (subconsciously) wants to get revenge on one of the people who “took” her Zuzu from her.

For Azula is not a dumbass, and thus probably remembers how she left Zuko and Katara together in jail back in S2 on top of most likely picking up on their bonding moment. And even if Zuko doesn’t romantically love Katara, it is clear they care for each other.

Thus, one of the many reasons why Katara takes a cheap-shot at Katara, for Azula knows Zuko will self-sacrifice himself for people he cares about, just like in the fountain incident of their youth.

Lastly, I think its precisely because of their similarities why I think out of all the Gaang members, Katara is the one most likely to have a friendship with redeemed!Azula, for they are both prodigy benders with mean streaks who have mommy issues and have a close proximity to power.

(No, I don’t think Katara should help Azula redeem herself since I don’t believe it is the job of the oppressed help their oppressors realize why they are wrong).

Imagine Katara and Azula loving roasting each other, before their brother intervene and cause the two to roast their brothers for thinking they need help, in addition to roasting them in general.

Imagine Katara and Azula confronting each other and giving each support that only people who have a high proximity to (political) power can give each other.

Imagine their friendly sparring battles, or them working together to find more practical/medical applications of water and firebending/lightningbending.

Imagine them hunting down rouge Dai Li members and/or rouge bloodbenders, either by themselves or with some combo of Mai, Ty Lee, Suki, and Toph.

Imagine Azula, seeing Katara being in a rut due to having to raise her kids alone for long periods of time, arranging for child care so she can take Katara out on a girl’s night out.

Imagine Katara, seeing Azula go through one of her episodes, go out her way to water heal Azula’s head, before talking Azula through it, causing Azula thank Katara for once again showing her unprompted mercy.

Imagine them talking about their childhoods, and realizing how much they have in common *cough*mommy issues*cough*.

Thus, the idea of a Katara-Azula friendship and/or friendly rivalry is one of the main reasons why I want Azula redeemed, for I think it is the natural conclusion of their rivalry and/or existence as mutual character foils.

But anyway, I have rambled long enough. What do you guys think about my analysis?

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For the longest time I didn’t understand the appeal of Azulaang since from Azula’s POV Aang is responsible for essentially ruining her life while from Aang’s POV, Azula did kill him, attempted to kill/jail his friends several times, and did try to commit a genocide. But then I realized that it was a self-insert fantasy from the POV of Aang, one that be described in the following sentences below.

Imagine giving the hot, peak physical human, genius, but mentally ill girl, the stern, but unconditional love she has been craving her whole life, struggling to make her a good girl but worth it since she will be totally loyal and loving to you till the end of time? Also, Azula would be a good political match for Aang, fixes his biggest weakness (his spinelessness), and their kids would be OP. For Katara’s parents are non-benders while Azula was specifically bred to increase the Firelord’s line’s power and can most likely only produce bender kids.

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Stereotypical Tyzula Ty Lee: “Azula-san, I completely forgive you for everything you ever did to me or my best friend and have always loved you unconditionally. I will help you become better, even if it means risking the quality of my life, my other relationships, my sanity, and my life itself. I will magically be able to help you deal with your myriad of mental issues, as if you always only needed love and affection, instead of real medical help. I will always love you, even if you don’t really change your behavior, or worse, remain the same power hungry bitch you grew up to be. I love you ‘Zula.”

Look, I am not opposed to Tyzula, for I actually think that they had a real friendship, even if there was a massive power imbalance, that got fucked up by Ozai’s abusive teachings and Azula trying to act as her sovereign and friend at the same time. But there is a tendency among Tyzula shippers and fics to make Ty Lee forgive Azula way too easily, make Azula not deal with her flaws or make (proper) amends to Ty Lee and Mai, retcon Azula into a soft baby who didn’t do anything wrong other than get abused, and/or gloss over the issues between the two.

For example, If Tyzula occurred pre-Boiling Rock like some fics imply, do you think it would have been consensual? Especially considering that: there has been a massive power imbalance (Azula is Ty Lee’s Sovereign) since their childhood that Azula took advantage of even then, Azula forced Ty Lee to join her squad at firepoint, and Ty Lee is deathly scared of Azula?

And if it happened post-Boiling Rock, there is a massive power imbalance in favor of Ty Lee since the moment Azula “acts up”, and it doesn’t have to be a big thing since Ty Lee is scarred shitless of Azula, Ty Lee can call Zuko to jail her and/or have Aang de-bend her.

In my opinion, there are some Tyzula fics that properly deal with the pre- and post-Boiling Rock power imbalances, but most of them just gloss over them. And not helping is the fact that comics imply that the two never had a real relationship at all, and that Ty Lee is still deathly afraid of Azula, willing to chi-block Azula the moment she is anything other than docile.

Also, how come most Tyzula shippers and fics don’t talk about what LoK’s Turf Wars said about Sozin outlawing homosexuality, and the implications it has for a lesbian or bisexual Azula? For if Azula, who tries to be the model princess in a post-Sozin Fire Nation, can’t even realize that using fear is not a good way to maintain relationships, how would she deal with the fact that she has feelings for girls?

Most of the Tyzula fics or headcanons I have read don’t seriously deal with the fact that Azula is deep in the closet and/or suffering from serious internalized homophobia, and thus likely would not express her sexual preferences in public unless she was in an extraordinary situation, or got serious therapy plus years of self-reflection and character growth. Not to mention the fact that she would be one of the leading perpetrators of homophobia by virtue of being Ozai’s right hand general and advisor.

So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community, and most likely will never see their ship be canonized? And yes, most of my own fanfic works do contain Tyzula, so feel free to call me out down below if I am being a hypocrite, and holding people to standards that I can’t uphold.

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How come we never see Mai or Ty Lee deal with their imperialist past in the comics?

For yeah comics!Azula is a horrible person, and it is implied that Azula was never friends with Mai and Ty Lee, who where coerced subjects trying to keep their mad sovereigns (Azulon, Ozai, and Azula) happy. But I find it odd that no one in-universe, or the narrative, challenges them for their past.

Zuko, Iroh, Piandao, Jeong Jeong, and Chey all had to confront their imperialist past before redeeming themselves, despite having as good an argument, if not better, that they were being coerced or faced life threatening consequences if they didn’t comply. So what makes Mai or Ty Lee any different?

And before people say they went to prison, it was for committing treason against the Fire Nation/attacking their Princess, not for realizing the error of their ways, and thus wanting to change.

Though in Ty Lee’s case, she did say she did join the Kyoshi Warriors in order to help fix a broken world in the Sisters comic, so maybe Ty Lee did confront her past. But I wish we saw her time in prison so we saw her change considering she enthusiastically fought against the Kyoshi Warriors and the Gaang, and mocked the Kyoshi Warriors’ style, not knowing or caring for the reason behind their makeup and dress.

However comics!Mai really hasn’t really done anything…In fact, she kept from Zuko and the Gaang the fact that her father was leading the New Ozai Society until Zuko almost got killed, only saved by plot induced stupidity and a last minute unexpected heel-face turn, and the Fire Warriors were able to kidnap around a dozen kids, including Mai’s own brother and Zuko’s half sister.

And even more galling, when confronted for her treason, she has the gall to tell an understandably angry Zuko that he of all people should understand 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.

On a sidenote, isn’t crazy that Zuko then quickly apologized and the story never brought up the topic of Mai’s treason ever again?

But getting back on track, are we being unreasonable in asking that Mai and Ty Lee confront their past, or if they already did, that we actually see it on page and/or screen?

Especially since the message sent by them not doing so is that if you turn at almost the last point possible, the people you have wronged repeatedly and the world community will instantly forgive you, despite constantly engaging in imperialism (ex. fighting against the rebels in Omashu, jailing and impersonating the Kyoshi Warriors), let alone helping commit one of the biggest acts of imperialism in history (helping Azula take over Ba Sing Se)?

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Let us reflect on how Fire Lord Zuko has conducted himself so far in the comics.

• Makes Aang promise to kill him if he ever starts acting like Ozai.
• Lets someone who was trying to kill him completely off the hook just because she had somewhat of a valid point.
• Pushes everyone away to point that he willingly goes to Ozai for advice and follows it. This leads to him almost being killed by Aang twice and a short-lived restarting of the Hundred Year War.
• Allows an obviously mentally unwell and unrepentant Azula alone time with Ozai, enables her escape, and gets blackmailed into letting her go on the search for Ursa when a simple pat down would have put an end to her scheme.
• Finally finds the letter, and not only doesn’t burn it at first sight, but also allows Azula to get her hands back on it.
• Failed to talk to Azula’s healers in order to find out that Azula has been having hallucinations of Ursa on top of getting abused and mistreated, and thus she might be liable to try and kill Noriko (Ursa) in order to get rid of them, putting his mother and step-family at unnecessary risk due to his incompetence.
• Allows Azula to escape (again), fails to find her, and fails to station guards at her old asylum, allowing Azula to break out several of her fellow asylum inmates for her terrorist cell.
• Security protocols get easily breached, and thus almost gets himself killed if it wasn’t for plot induced stupidity.
• When confronting Mai for her treason, he quickly backs off after she says he of all people should know how hard it is to betray your father, as if their situations were remotely similar.
• Gets back talked by a terrorist, despite Zuko showing him (mostly) unearned mercy, and never stands up for himself.
• Allows himself to be completely manipulated by a bunch of homeless, penniless, mentally ill fugitives and engages in Ozai-like behavior thanks to them.
• Fails to capture Azula again, with his only action so far being promising to a crowd in the capital that he will do better, despite knowing that words don’t matter, only actions do.

With all the above, is there anyway Zuko can course correct while keeping the comics canon? Cause it is hard to see comics!Zuko grow into the wise and respected world leader, who was implied to have led the Fire Nation into a golden age, that we see in LoK.

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Trigger Warning/Hot Take: Isn’t there a very dark reason why Ursa neglected Azula?

Ursa was kidnapped and forcibly bred like livestock so she could produce ultra powerful heirs for the royal line based on a prophecy related to her bloodline. But while Zuko was naturally sweet and a weak bender, allowing Ursa to engage in the delusion Zuko was the son she should have had with Ikem/Noren, Azula took after her father, and therefore was a constant remainder of why Ursa’s life went to hell.

Thus, the reason why Ursa neglected Azula and didn’t show her much affection, if at all.

And before you accuse me of victim blaming, I thought part of Ursa’s arc in the comics was her realizing that Azula really never had Ozai’s love since Ozai can’t really love anyone, not even himself. Moreover, she realized that she was wrong for neglecting Azula and/or projecting her issues with Azulon and Ozai onto Azula.

And that if Yang didn’t leave the comics, or if Hicks didn’t get scared off writing Azula, the next Fire Nation comic would have been Ursa apologizing to Azula, hopefully causing Azula to turn a new leaf and start a healing and atonement arc. And for Azula and Ursa to start having the mother-daughter relationship they both always wanted, but was prevented from having due to Azulon and Ozai’s abuse.

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I don’t like comics!Mai, but a lot of her behavior can easily be explained if we take an overview of her life (from her POV) going up to her last comics appearance.

• Stuck in an abusive friendship with a psycho royal just to further your father’s career.
• Meet psycho’s royal’s nice and caring older bro and fall in love with him, but he is soon burned and banished due to failing to meet his even more psycho father’s standards.
• Psycho royal eventually finds you after you have left home to further father’s political career, and basically forces you to join the hunt for your lover when your real best friend heavily implies she was forced at firepoint to join psycho royal's hunt, and so you have no choice but to join, or you and/or your loved ones will suffer the consequences.
• Psycho royal forces you to not trade for your kidnapped brother, and only because the “terrorists” are benevolent prevents your brother from dying, or worse.
• Eventually meet up with lover and rekindle relationship.
• Lover is both mentally and physically scarred and dealing with his trauma, but you remain supportive of him, even when he acts like a jackass to you.
• Lover eventually commits treason and only leaves you a vague note. And when you confront him in prison, all he really says is that he has to redeem his nation. However, you trust him nevertheless and save him and his party from certain death while all but ensuring yours. In fact, the only reason why you got a life sentence instead is because your real best friend attacked the psycho royal when she was going to hit you with lightning, and then the psycho sparred you both because ?????
• Once lover disposes of his psycho relatives and takes the throne, you are only released (quickly) because of your uncle, but you still go back to your lover and ask that he essentially never leaves you (in the dark) again.
• But lover not only starts to go back to psycho father, but also starts taking his advice, despite said father abusing lover most of his life and enabling your abuser.
• Realizing your unconditional support has coddled your lover, you leave him so that he can realize what is truly important, and therefore change his behavior for the better.
• However, lover releases psycho royal in a selfish-quest to find mommy, and then has the gall to lose her. This causes you and your best friend to live in constant paranoid, frightful that the psycho royal could pop out of anywhere to punish you both for your “betrayals".
• Psycho royal creates a terrorist cell that kidnaps your brother as part of a larger kidnapping scheme to fuck with everyone who "betrayed" her as far as you know, and manipulates your father, who is leading a terrorist cell trying to put your (OG) lover's psycho father back on the throne. And your father almost succeeds by almost killing (OG) lover, despite the fact that your (OG) lover's psycho father would likely kill you and your best friend for the treason you committed against him. 
• Yet, despite all his fuck ups, you still love your (OG) lover, and so you help him find the kidnapped kids, despite psycho royal getting massively stronger, leading to her almost killing you several times as far as you know, and her taking away the one trump card (OG) lover had over her.
• You manage to rescue the kids, but psycho royal and her terrorist cell still roam at large, and the psycho continues to get stronger by day to the point she could feasible kill a serious Avatar in Avatar State with lethal AOE instant lightning, or by using some other technique(s), getting rid of the one person who could truly protect you and everyone you care about.

So yeah comics!Mai is a bad person, and an even bigger hypocrite than Zuko. But thinking about it rationally, she has a lot to be upset with Zuko.

And if comics!Mai was a real character, and not just a drama device, even after breaking up with Kei Lo, she should have had an argument with Zuko over his fuck ups and relapses, and demand that he do better. Especially when lives are on the line, and still are.

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I know people hate the idea that is remotely plausible that Azula could even be match for a remotely serious Aang by the time Smoke and Shadow is done, but I don’t think the idea is crazy, or unfounded.

For I headcanon that after getting threatened by Kyoshi in Shadow of Kyoshi, Fire Lord Zoryu vowed to make sure that his descendants would never have to bow before the Avatar ever again, in addition to his plan to centralize power in the Fire Lord so he and his descendants would never face a coup attempt again. So he started the tradition for marrying for (literal) power, making sure heirs either married the most powerful firebenders benders available, or recent blood descendants of recent Fire Nation Avatars.

And I think my headcanon explains why Fire Lord Sozin thought he could win in a fight against fully realized Roku; why the Royal Family only seems to produce elite/prodigy benders; why Ozai is considered so strong that only the Avatar could defeat him, when other elite benders of the other elements could easily be taken out by a small group of elite fighters; the whole eugenics experiment/prophecy underlying the Ozai-Ursa marriage; why Zuko can bend rainbow fire in addition to the implication that he surpassed his father while only being a young adult; and why "sane" Azula is essentially already the GOAT firebender as a teenager.

And why in all honesty I think Azula by her next comic appearance is going to at least be able to make her quick charge, and maybe even instant, lightning lethal, since that is how she is going to still remain a threat in my opinion. For even with all the raw power at Aang’s command, he still has a frail human body.

Hell, considering that the Kyoshi novels implied that smokebending is a subset of firebending, and that the Fire Warriors seemed to be psychically bending smoke, Azula could learn to bend fire or lightning psychically, which in that case I think she could even take on Amon, Yakone, and Tarrlok all at once and stomp them.

So, what do you guys think about my headcanons?

Plausible, or just the insane ramblings of a Fire Nation Royal Family and Azula fan engaging in maximum wank?

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I am not a fan of the comics, as one can tell from my previous chapters, especially since they use Azula’s mental issues as an excuse to keep her a villain and justify her demonization and abuse. Thus, I understand the sympathy for comics!Azula's treatment, especially considering what happened, and what was implied, in The Search.

But why should anyone in-universe have any sympathy for, or want to help, Azula post-Smoke and Shadow since she is a domestic terrorist who is an ongoing threat due to her desire to remake Zuko in her and their ancestors’ image? Especially considering her power buff, which makes her all but unbeatable except for, in my opinion, an Avatar State Aang or bloodbenders fighting with lethal intent?

And before you say this post is anti-Azula, how would you feel if it was one of your kids and/or siblings that got kidnapped; or one of the many people the New Ozai Society hurt, or almost killed, after Azula started “supporting” them; or one of the asylum guards Azula likely attacked when she broke out her fellow Fire Warriors; or one of the people who got assaulted by Azula and/or the other Fire Warriors; or the world leaders who rightly fear what Azula would do in order to break her brother considering this is the same girl who bloodlessly conquered Ba Sing except for killing The Avatar, and effortlessly repelled an invasion without killing the opposing force?

The above is (partially) why I don’t understand why people think Mai and Ty Lee, or even Zuko, post-Smoke and Shadow would want to help, or leave alone, Azula instead of killing her. Or at least without serious changes of heart caused by new information, new circumstances, and/or Azula changing her behavior.

For Ty Lee attacks Azula the moment she is anything other than docile, even when she is restrained, and can’t sleep peacefully once she learns Azula is free.

Mai calls Azula a psycho numerous times, is pissed Azula got out of "prison", had her brother kidnapped by Azula, has tried to kill Azula multiple times, and her father is in jail because of Azula.

And Zuko clearly believed that Azula would have killed him before hearing her plans for him, she kidnapped Kiyi in front of him, and she made him look like a fool in front of his nation and the international community.

So in sum, Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee do want to, at the very least, jail Azula, and with Azula’s current mindset, the only thing left in my opinion is for the Gaang plus Mai and Ty Lee to confront Azula in an epic final battle. A final battle where Zuko has to do what he likely would have done at the Final Agni Kai if Azula had directly shot lightning at him, and kill her, leaving him broken-hearted and wondering, alongside Mai and Ty Lee, what could have been if she hadn’t been twisted by Ozai and her asylum abuse, if Zuko could ever be assed to research why her mental condition got worse.

And yes, a lot of my fics do deal with the post-comics status quo, where I tend to hand-wave and/or ignore the issues I describe in this post. Though in my defense it is because I have already written one fic, Sometimes You Have to Let It Burn, Even if It Hurts, that tries to seriously deal with the issues I brought up in this chapter, and because I want to write about post-comics scenarios without having to constantly write really long and dark fics.

So what do you guys think about my ramblings? Coherent thoughts, or hypocritical ramblings of an asshole? And if you disagree with anything I said, please feel free to comment down below.

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There are a lot of good reasons why Azula should be redeemed, like the fact that she was an abused child soldier and general groomed, and still being groomed until Ozai got deposed, into what she became in addition to suffering from severe mental illness. 

But I don’t think the narrative cares at all for any of that all since by focusing so much on the aesthetics of Azula’s villainy, the show basically caused fandom, and even the creators, to ignore the humanity in Azula to the point that it basically blocks off any interesting storytelling avenues Post-Sozin’s Comet with Azula other than killing her, jailing her, de-bending her, and/or turning her into a Scooby-Doo/ Team Rocket type of villain.

For Azula constantly wears make-up even when straightjacketed, has a “sexy” voice despite being a heavily sheltered kid, and has scenes with brimming sexual tension (ex. the bedroom scene), all hallmarks of the seductive temptress villainess archetype, one that does not get redeemed in the overwhelming majority of works the archetype appears in.

Whenever we see flashbacks to child!Azula, all we see is Azula acting like a jackass without any context, narrative focus, and/or inner monologue to help explain her behavior, leaving the audience to believe that she is evil just because, in addition to making the audience comfortable with Zuko’s eventual redemption since he is a “cute and innocent turtleduck” in comparison.

Would it have been that hard, for example, to show Azula have special one on one meetings with Ozai where Ozai engages in parentification and tells her his unfiltered thoughts about Azulon, Iroh, and Lu Ten, explaining not only why she such low thoughts about them, but also why she says such vile and derogatory things about them as well?

Moreover, the show makes it clear, in my opinion, that the only person who can truly defeat Azula is Azula herself. 

And this is because for most of Season 2, she is stalemated at best, with her only clear cut loss being The Drill, which can easily be attributed to The Drill’s crew, before conquering Ba Sing Se, getting the invasion plan details, killing Aang, turning Zuko, and capturing Iroh with nay a scratch on her.

She then manages to turn what should have been the relatively bloodless end of the war from the perspective of the Gaang, the Day of Black Sun, into a crushing loss that doesn’t end with all of them captured only because The Fire Nation had no means of capturing Appa at the time.

And even after the Boiling Rock triggered the start of her childhood schizo disorder, she almost killed Zuko at The Western Air Temple if it wasn’t for the Gaang saving him. 

Hell! The only reason why Zuko and Katara even got to the capital unmolested during Sozin's Comet is because Azula, during the onset of her childhood schizo disorder, banished everyone.

And even if she was losing to Zuko, she almost managed to take down both Zuko and Katara despite suffering from a schizo episode, and only lost because she got too close to Katara on top of what appeared to be the only open water source in the entire arena. 

And this trend of Azula being a nigh-undefeatable, all-intimidating villain gets taken to new highs in the comics, where, despite a year in captivity, she manages to blackmail Zuko into going on the search for Ursa unbound and with dignity, despite starting the comic in a wheelchair with a straightjacket and chains around her legs, before almost managing to kill off the only person who could refute the “bastard” letter and running off with it, with the only plausible explanation of why she didn’t do so is solely because she didn’t want to.

And in Smoke and Shadow, she successfully takes out the New Ozai Society, despite being a penniless, homeless, fugitive, and shows Zuko how he easily he can become a dictator before dipping out to plot the next step in her plan to remake Zuko in her image. 

Not to mention the fact that she has managed to become GOAT firebender by this point, for not only has her flames become hotter (her flames stay blue even after she releases her hold), she has smokebending powers, and unprecedented lightning manipulation on top of being arguably the best H2H fighter in her era.

Also, not to belabour a point, but is not like “sane” Azula, in the show or comics, doesn’t dominate every single fight she is in except her fight with Katara in the Catacombs, with that near defeat being easily explained as either plot induced stupidity or that she was going to use her fire breathing to escape Katara’s hold and got interrupted by Zuko’s intervention.

No, not all.

But the point is that Azula never really lost by anyone’s hand but her own, for her biggest and only outright loss, Sozin’s Comet, only occurred because she got dealt a shit hand in regards to genetics and timing (she got jumped at the worst possible moment). For it is ironic to say, but Zuko was born lucky while Azula was lucky to be born when it came to having the underlying genetics for a schizo disorder, which is the only thing that can really defeat Azula.

So why would the audience care for the showy, nigh-invincible villain? I mean, at least Zuko was an underdog, or at least compared to the Gaang and his sister who are all once in a generation prodigies in their respective fields, and him joining the Gaang didn’t require his competence and/or intelligence to take a hit.

For unless redeemed!Azula gets nerfed, why would there be any tension in any story that she is involved in?

For example, how could you write a compelling story about Zuko dealing with a civil war if redeemed!Azula is by his side, and thus crushes the opposition before getting everyone even tangentially involved arrested like her prior feats suggest would happen?

But moving on, I don’t think anyone in-universe cares that Azula was a kid in regards to her redeemability considering the age of majority in Avatar’s world is lower than our’s today, Azula was either second- or third-in-command in Ozai’s regime during his reign, and the fact she was an active and willingly agent of imperialism. 

And you know, the whole “I suggested and helped plan for a genocide” thing. For yes, I know it can be argued that she suggested scorched earth tactics, but I don’t think anyone in-universe is going to argue in favor of Azula.

Also hurting Azula’s chances of getting a second chance post-war is the poor state of the Fire Nation asylum system, which is responsible for making her mental state worse as heavily implied by Yang’s Word of God, and the fact that she has alienated everyone in power and/or who could have helped her, especially post-comics. 

For Zuko never really cared to help her until he needed her to find Ursa and realized the poor state of his nuclear family was sending a bad message to his nation and the world. And when pushed to his limit by Azula during The Search, he asks her why did she have to make his life so hard from the day she was born, like his primary abuser wasn't Ozai, and Azulon wasn’t Ozai’s primary enabler.

(Note: Azula is Zuko’s secondary abuser as well as an Ozai enabler, but that is not the focus of this post.)

Iroh is never in canon seen caring for her once, except telling the Gaang to let Azula go on the search for Ursa on her own terms since it might bring her peace, and in The Legacy of The Fire Nation blames her for her abuse.

Ursa never had a soft moment with Azula on screen or on panel with both of them conscious, is never shown to have any real interest in parenting Azula, and post-comics is probably furious at Azula for kidnapping Kiyi and continuing to harass and assault her favored child after trying to jail and/or murder him several times. 

Moreover, the “bastard” letter, which might be the closest thing we have to Ursa’s unfiltered thoughts about Azula, implies that she views Azula as part of the pain associated with her life as a Fire Nation Princess.

So why would Ursa want to help someone who has caused nothing but pain to herself and her (actual) loved ones?

Mai and Ty Lee have utterly disowned her, with Mai trying to kill Azula several times and Ty Lee attacking Azula on sight the moment Azula is anything other than docile, in addition to the constant justified paranoia the two have after Azula escaped Zuko’s custody.

Lo and Li are MIA, and even if they weren't, they probably wouldn’t help since they were Azula’s abusers as well.

The Fire Warriors are currently enabling Azula’s worse impulses and either are too beholden to Azula for breaking them out from the asylum to push back or will eventually leave her once she alienates them like she does to everyone other than Ozai, who at this point she has betrayed and is actively working against. Aang is too busy and everyone else, including her own subjects apparently, (already) views her as a crazy psycho who needs to be locked up for the good of the world.

Like I know this is kind of dark to say, but it seems that Azula is irredeemable not because any innate qualities, but because her circumstances and the choices she made as a kid and teenager have blocked off any avenue for her to get the help she needs to start redeeming herself. For almost everyone who got redeemed in ATLA or LoK had someone show them unearned and unconditional mercy, and I don’t post-comics Azula will ever get that as sad as that sounds.

And this is because, even with the ambiguity in TV!Azula’s character that allows people to credibly argue that she is either redeemable or irredeemable, the comics all but say she was born bad, and can’t be saved due to her learned morals and innate and incurable craziness/evilness.

For isn’t a crazed, sadistic madwoman essentially Azula’s character post-TV show? 

In The Search, she helps search for Ursa so she can off her in an attempt to get rid of the voice in her head, and only stops when Noriko, not Ursa, tells her that she is sorry for neglecting her if she was her mom.

And then in Smoke and Shadow, she breaks out six girls from her asylum as part of a long-term seditious domestic terrorist plot to turn Zuko into a dictator, using the visage of a dark sprit from her former friend Mai’s nightmare that she was responsible for causing to terrorize Capital City, engage in mass child kidnapping, and manipulate terrorist groups to force Zuko's hand before ominously vanishing into smoke, heavily implied to keep trying until she get what she wants, damn the consequences.

And before people bring up the implied asylum abuse and Yang’s Word of God heavily implying Azula’s mental state and actions in the comics due to her "treatment" in the asylum, I don’t think the average fan cares. For if you go onto mainstream sites like reddit and twitter, the majority seem to believe that Azula was essentially born with non-curable severe ASPD, despite that going against the show’s ethos and the show and Bryke's Word of God, at least at the time of Sozin’s Comet, all but saying Azula was a product of nurture, not nature.

So my point in all this is to point out that Azula probably won’t get redeemed due to the writing choices made by the creators’ pigeonholing Azula into the irredeemable villain role that has caused the audience to jetsam whatever sympathy they had for Azula, if they ever had any in the first place.

And while there could be a path for Azula to find redemption post-comics, it would be an exceeding hard one to write while keeping everyone in character, let alone crafting one that is satisfying to the audience considering the last time they tried redeeming a character similar to Azula, Kuvira, it arguably led to the worse non-movie ATLA product ever released, Ruins of the Empire.

Chapter Text

People who say that Azula should stay a villain usually do so due to some combination of the following reasons: she was born evil; her mental illnesses are untreatable, especially in her time; it would cheapen the redemption arcs we have already seen; she exists only to be a foil to Zuko; she needs to remain a villain to show what would have happened if Zuko had everything he wanted at the start of the show, and why what Zuko wanted at start of the show was ultimately bad; and that she is better as a villain.

But regardless of all that, I think the best reason against keeping Azula a villain is that we have already seen what Bryke will do if they keep Azula a villain

Illogical power buffs to the point one could make a credible argument that she is the strongest non-Avatar, non-bloodbender, and non-sprit fused character in the franchise, despite spending at least a year in captivity.

Shoddily relying on vaguely alluded to asylum abuse and a word of god statement to justify one of the smartest and cunning characters in the franchise engaging in several half-baked plots that don’t really seem to further any of her goals or help satisfy any of her desires.

Giving her Gaang-tier asylum inmates to serve as her new henchwomen, who allied themselves with her because they are scared of her and/or being manipulated, which doesn’t make sense since she no longer has any political power, and thus they can ignore her once she breaks them out. Not to mention she 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 the rant).

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 right 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. Not to mention two of them almost killing Aang after incapacitating him if it wasn’t for his plot shield granted by LoK, for he needs to die as a 66 year old man so he can reincarnate into Korra.

But most appalling, how everyone starts 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).

Like when Azula burned all those letters, how come Zuko didn’t order his guards to pat her down?

When Azula escaped into the Forgetful Valley and Zuko said he tried, does that mean Azula managed to evade an Avatar State powered seismic sense? Or that she evaded June's shushu? Did Zuko call Toph or the White Lotus to help him capture one of the biggest threats to his throne and world peace? And so, what does it say about them that a mentally broken Azula still managed to evade them?

How was she able to break out six girls from her old asylum without Zuko finding out? Moreover, how come Zuko, or anyone for that matter, never asked any of the asylum workers what Azula was hallucinating about? For if they did, maybe Zuko wouldn’t have taken Azula to find her literal trigger warning and put his beloved mother, as well as her family, in danger. In addition, how come no one asked Azula who “she” was?

But I admit all of the above assumes that Azula was getting relatively modern treatment, and that anyone cared about her mental health, which doesn’t seem to be the case. And I don’t blame them, for I don’t believe abuse victims have to help their abusers, nor do I believe that the oppressed have to help their oppressors, but still, they are world leaders who have proven to be highly competent in the past when dealing with sensitive issues. So what changed?

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 in his regime after Bumi retook Omashu, and thus his governorship was gone, but also when one of the first things Ozai would do after taking back power is execute Mai for her treason?

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

How come the Gaang doesn't spend every waking moment after Smoke and Shadow hunting down Azula when she has made it clear with her actions, actions like engaging in mass kidnapping with her own terrorist group and manipulating other terrorists groups to serve her ends, that she would do anything to turn Zuko into a tyrant? Especially considering this the same person who conquered Ba Sing Se as a 14 year old with just two childhood friends and her brother, and thus her threat to Zuko at the end of Smoke and Shadow is anything but hollow?

For doesn’t the Gaang have a responsibility to ensure that the fragile peace they have built remains? Especially when it is mostly their fault that Azula got free, and that it is their general incompetence that allows Azula to remain free and a threat?

But on a more serious note, the biggest issue with Azula’s character, or the comics in general, is LoK. For thanks to LoK, we know everything ends up being ok, and that Zuko has a long and prosperous reign.

Thus, LoK hamstrings’ Bryke’s story choices; for example, if I told you that at one point Azula would escape after being cruelly locked in an asylum for at least a year due to being a madwomen, and that she had become the GOAT firebender and H2H fighter in ATLA, you would assume that Azula would be leading a plot to overthrow Zuko and eliminate everyone in her way, along with everyone who had betrayed her, en route to restoring the old regime.

(In my opinion, her lighting manipulation and smoke generation put her in a different tier from all other firebenders save for the Avatar.)

But instead we get Joker!Azula whose “true destiny” is to make Zuko have one day bad so he’ll turn out like her, even though the audience knows thanks to LoK she’ll never succeed, thus making the whole thing a waste of time for the reader.

And now Bryke wants to write more stories for Aang’s time?!

In my opinion, unless they retcon LoK and/or the comics, it appears that the stories they can tell will be lackluster for the reasons I already articulated. But who knows, I might be completely wrong, and boy do I hope I am wrong.

Chapter Text

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqLW99cn1A8

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.

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Zuko vs Katara at the Northern Water Tribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R51j2XL337E

Azula vs. Zuko during Sozin’s Comet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRkI15fIJ1w

I don’t understand (well I do, but I’ll get to it later), why people misunderstand the differences in how Katara froze Zuko in the Northern Water Tribe versus how she froze Azula during Sozin’s Comet.

For when she froze Zuko, it was a hollow dome that not only allowed Zuko to breathe, but also talk, as seen when he realizes out loud that Katara has found a master before breaking out of the dome.

Whereas when she froze Azula, she froze the two of them in a solid block of ice with no room to move, let alone breathe. And the only reason why Katara was able to move was because she was able to psychically bend the water before either of them died from asphyxiation, which almost happened considering how out of breath the two of them were when Katara phase shifted the ice back into water.

In other words, the differences in how Katara froze Zuko versus Azula is due to her growth as a bender. For not only was Katara at the time of the Northern Water Tribe fight still not a master, but also didn't have as much contact with firebenders as her future Season 3 self.

For by the time she had her rematch with Azula, not only was Katara at worst the second-strongest waterbender in the world, but also had lived for several weeks at bare minimum with two firebenders, including a master in Zuko.

And just as Aang picked up on his master’s skills like lightning redirection and seismic sense, it is crazy to believe that she picked up on how firebending worked by asking Aang and/or Zuko about the mechanics of firebending, and thus found out that without breath, firebending is impossible? Or that she learned by watching their training sessions?

Especially when it is highly likely she was looking forward to her rematch with Aang’s killer?

I mean this is the same show that literally tells the audience that taking inspiration from other sources, including the other bending arts, makes one’s bending stronger.

So why don’t people give credit to Katara for being the intelligent, eclectic badass that she is instead using the two instances to play up Zuko’s abilities while denigrating Azula?

For most people, if you go onto mainstream sites, think that the block of ice that Azula was frozen in was hollow enough to the point that she could have breathed, and thus melted herself out like her big brother.

And this causes people to say that Zuko is the better and/or stronger bender due to knowing the breath of fire, being exposed to the Dragons, bending without rage and/or hate, having (better) inner balance, and/or not being insane.

But disregarding the fact that show itself, through Iroh advising Zuko that he needs to take someone with him to take down Azula, and Smoke and Shadow making it clear that “sane” Azula is still stronger than Zuko, the reason why this happens, in my opinion, is because people are desperate to make Zuko the stronger fire sibling when that flies in the face of his arc.

For Zuko’s arc was not becoming the strongest firebender or the best leader, but instead becoming a better person. Meanwhile, Azula’s arc, as Zuko’s main villainous foil, is meant to show what happens when you prioritize power above all else.

For Zuko’s arc, in my opinion, is him learning that it is his uncle’s values of peace, kindness, and balance, and not Ozai’s values of domination, control, and destruction, that are the ones worth emulating since they are the only ones capable of giving him the inner peace and honor he desires.

And in the process of finally starting to live his life by his uncle’s values, Zuko not only manages to gain non-ironic friends in the form of the Gaang, but also helps save the Earth Kingdom before taking the throne, acknowledged by all the other nations.

Meanwhile, Azula wholeheartedly, but not entirely her fault due to the fact that Ozai groomed her, embraces Ozai's values, values that cause her to basically push away her brother, her friends, and all of her allies, leaving her with nothing, not even Ozai’s “love” or the throne, with the last image we see of her on the TV show being her crying and writhing while chained to a grate before being unceremoniously shipped off to a remote asylum where she was watched 24/7.

Thus, the key difference between Azula and Zuko is that the latter is only capable of invoking fear in others that eventually turns into hate while the latter is capable of invoking love that ends up saving him time after time.

For it was Ursa’s love that caused her to give Ozai the poison needed for him to kill Azulon and not go through with Azulon’s order, thus saving Zuko’s life, despite getting banished in the process.

It was Iroh’s love that caused him to join Zuko during his banishment and serve as Zuko’s rescue parent, even after Zuko hurt him time and time again, culminating in Zuko throwing him into prison for life.

It was Mai’s love that caused her to rescue Zuko and his party’s gondola, with the expectation that she would either be killed or jailed for life for her treason.

And it was Katara’s love that caused her to fight Azula after Azula had taken down Zuko during Sozin’s Comet and defeat her before healing Zuko despite being at a massive power disadvantage.

And to add on, I personally think that Azula only broke down after seeing Zuko rise up with Katara by his side because it hit her that while she might be a better fighter than Zuko, more ruthless than him, and a superior tactician/strategist, it doesn’t matter in the end. For even if she manages to defeat Zuko in a battle, she’ll never truly win since Zuko will have his friends, girlfriend, and their uncle to back him up whenever he falls while she has nobody.

And even if the comics falter on this point by having Aang and Zuko, and thus the post-war order, only survive their encounters with the Fire Warriors because the Fire Warriors wanted them to survive, Zuko straight up tells Azula when he thinks Azula is going to kill him during the climax of Smoke and Shadow that no one will accept her on the throne even if he is gone, something that she implicitly agrees with.

So I don’t understand why Zuko stans are so quick to dismiss the beauty of Zuko and Azula’s arcs in a misguided, in my opinion, attempt to make him the strongest?

And before anyone says that I am downplaying Zuko, I have Zuko as the fifth-strongest firebender in the world even before meeting the dragons. And I have post-comics Zuko as the second-strongest firebender in history only behind his sister thanks to his dragonfire redirection, lightning redirection, and handless fire jets (that he made while carrying Kuei during nighttime at the South Pole) feats.

So what gives Zuko stans?

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I know a lot of people don’t like the comics, but I recently came across the Smoke and Shadow omnibus cover, which has left me with even more questions about what is possible with firebending, and just how strong post-comics Azula is.

For the comics gave Azula the following new abilities: quick charge lightning; instant lightning; the ability to wield lightning like a bootleg chidori; the ability to make lightning spheres; the ability to make lightning zaps; lightning redirection; instant area of effect lightning; the ability to control and spilt her lightning stream after she has fired it; concussive lightning; faster fire jets; and, most controversially, the apparent ability to psychically generate and manipulate smoke.

But even with all these new abilities, at least you could argue that Azula was far from being a team buster, and that there are people who could give her a credible fight aside from serious Avatars, sprit fusions like Yun, and Yakone’s bloodline, people like comics!Toph, comics!Katara, and maybe even bloodlusted comics!Zuko and Iroh.

But with Azula’s apparent ability to dual wield fire and lightning, am I crazy to believe that Azula’s only real matches are serious Avatars, sprit fusions, and Yakone’s bloodline?

For wasn't comics!Azula’s biggest issue is that none of her lightning, except for her fully charged, have anything other than concussive, stunning, and/or clothing damage effects at best?

But if she can dual wield fire and lightning, doesn't that get rid of her biggest weakness since she can use her lethal firebending to supplement her non-lethal lightingbending?

Also, does anyone have any ideas as to how this is possible in-universe?

Cause I know LoK says that lightingbending very is taxing on chi-reserves and even a professional athlete like Mako can’t spam lightning. And while I know that Azula was specifically bred to be the ultimate firebender, I can’t shake the feeling that that Azula dual wielding fire and lightning breaks some unspoken rule about benders not being able to use normal bending plus a sub-element at the same time…at least while not being amped.

For Sozin’s Comet Ozai did dual wield fire and lightning, but even then, he just using his fire jets while lightningbending.

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is does anyone have a good explanation for what the cover is trying to imply other than the out-of-universe answer of Bryke trying to credibly make Azula into the final villain of Aang’s era, and therefore have to give her massive buffs so she remains a credible threat as the Gaang, who are all child prodigies and masters by the end of the TV show, enter adulthood, and thus their physical primes?

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Hot take, but other than anything involving Ozai, does Zuko ever face any real consequences and/or unfixable situations?

For his mom gets banished and is presumed dead. But Zuko is eventually able to find her alive and well and gets a new, loving sister who worships him out of the whole ordeal.

Zuko conquers Ba Sing Se with Azula, yet King Kuei is apparently good friends with him, even after the whole Yu Dao situation that leads to the Earth Kingdom losing valuable land, numerous ports, and a substantial portion of their human capital with no indication that the Fire Nation and/or the eventual United Republic paid them adequate reparations for their loss.

Not to mention their doesn’t ever seem to be any popular Earth Kingdom movement against Zuko, especially after Zuko and his war buddy/BFF the Avatar manipulate convince Kuei to give the oldest colonies self-determination without really taking into account the opinion of Earth Kingdom lower class masses in both the oldest colonies and in the Earth Kingdom.

Zuko almost restarts the Hundred Year War after going to Ozai out of all people for advice, with only the intervention of the Gaang preventing any bloodshed before Aang comes up with the radical solution, at least in their world at the time, of self-determination.

But no one really cares since we never see Zuko apologizing for his lack of communication towards the Earth Kingdom in regards to why he suddenly walked back on the Harmony Restoration Movement. Nor does Zuko make any tangible efforts on panel to make sure he won’t slip like that again.

Zuko selfishly lets out an unrepentant and severely mentally ill Azula to find Mommy, who in turn almost kills Ursa as part of a plot to overthrow Zuko using the “Zuko is a bastard letter”, which he foolishly lets her keep even after finding it instead of burning it on sight, before escaping to engage in terrorism as part of an ongoing plot to turn Zuko into a dictator.

But thankfully no one gets seriously hurt (so far), and we know Azula fails in the long run due to LoK, despite the only action see Zuko do on panel so far to deal with the issue of the Fire Warriors is give a flowery speech asking for forgiveness and promising to do better, despite knowing damn well from his own redemption arc that only actions, not words, matter.

Not to mention his failure in monitoring Azula’s asylum not only leads to her worsened mental state, but also allows her to break six other girls from the asylum and easily convince them to join her terrorist cell without him ever being altered to said break in, or the disappearance of the girls.

He betrays Iroh in Ba Sing Se and is responsible for him being thrown into jail for life, but is easily forgiven, even after he keeps on making costly mistakes that costs him a valuable ally in Mai (Mai almost certainly doesn’t keep Ukano's/New Ozai Society’s cover if Zuko didn’t push her away), almost restarts the Hundred Year War, and everything involving the Fire Warriors.

He hunts the Gaang around the world, is indirectly responsible for Yue’s death, and is an accomplice to Aang’s death, but is forgiven by all of them and becomes life-long friends with them, especially Aang, who is his best friend even after Zuko asks him to kill him if he becomes Ozai 2.0 knowing damn well Aang couldn’t even kill Ozai himself and has a very principled stand again murder.

Is a horrible boyfriend to Mai and gets broken up by her due to his lies, as well as for being a weirdo in general, but despite showing no signs of actual change (so far), Izumi’s design all but says they get back together for good. And by lack of change, for example, how come Zuko didn’t ask Mai and Ty Lee (Mai’s best friend) if they and/or their families wanted personal protection after Azula escaped his custody?

For surely he must have realized at some point how scared they were of Azula, and their reasonably held fear that if Azula ever escaped, they and/or their loved ones would all die horrible deaths for their “betrayals”?

Or how about after the events of Smoke & Shadow, where, even if she showed that she wasn’t going to kill them all, at least for now, Azula showed a gleeful willingness to harm and manipulate Mai’s family as long as it helps her achieve her goal of turning Zuko into Ozai 2.0?

He burns Kyoshi Island, yet not only does the island forgive him, the Kyoshi Warriors become his trusted bodyguards as well. This despite him not making any effort to atone for burning their island other than ending the war as far as we know.

He almost destroys Katara and Sokka’s village and threatens Kanna’s life, yet when he returns to the South Pole, everyone is cool with him and the subject never comes up.

Like I understand a lot of people’s understanding and/or patience towards Zuko is because they have unconditional love towards him (ex. Mai, Iroh, Ursa); because Zuko saved the world by defecting from Ozai’s regime, teaching Aang firebending, and telling the Gaang of Ozai’s plan to burn the Earth Kingdom during Sozin's Comet; and/or is the only viable ruler the Fire Nation has right now.

But isn’t it crazy how Zuko’s mistakes, bad behavior, and/or incompetence have no lasting consequences? Nor do they ever cause any lasting, unforgivable grudges in people?

For example, how come Aang is never really seen dealing with PTSD related to his death?

How did Kyoshi Island manage to not suffer any casualties due to Zuko’s attack?

How come we never see Zuko ever talk to one of the lower class masses in the oldest colonies upset that, despite nominally throwing off the yoke of the Fire Nation, they in practice still have to live in a country dominated by Fire Nationals with heavy ties to the old colonial regime?

Like I understand the show had to give Zuko a happy ending considering its tone and target audience, but if everything keeps on working out in Fire Lord Zuko’s favor, why should the audience care for stories involving him?

Or more succinctly, why should the audience care for Fire Lord Zuko?

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I understand that people like the idea of Zuko helping Azula heal and redeem herself, not only fully breaking the cycle of abuse, but also becoming a better man than Iroh, who canonically never really cared for Azula and blames her for her abuse. Especially after Aaron Ehasz tweeted about his plan to redeem Azula through Zuko if ATLA ever got a Season 4, WHICH WAS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN PER BRYKE’s WORDS.

But the idea that Zuko would help Azula heal and redeem herself is literally not supported by canon.

For he left Azula in an abusive institution for at least a year without giving a damn, which was well within his rights after everything she did to him, and was content with leaving her there until he realized the shitty state of his nuclear family badly reflected him on, and that he needed Azula to extract intel from Ozai about Ursa’s possible location before putting her under house arrest with 24/7 surveillance in an effort to send a message to his subjects and the world.

And that the only reason why Azula was eventually able to travel free and unbound with dignity was because she managed to blackmail Zuko with Ursa’s possible location.

Moreover, deep down, when you push back against Zuko’s facade of wanting to “help” Azula, you find someone who blames her for making his life hell from the moment she was born, like his primary abusers weren’t Ozai and Azulon, and thinks she does evil for the sake of evil.

For when Zuko finds out Azula is tied to the Fake Kemurikage kidnappings, he doesn’t react with sadness like Ty Lee, or shock and disbelief like Mai, two people who, despite rightfully fearing and loathing Azula, did know her best outside of her family.

No…when asked why Azula would be a part of such a vile enterprise for no apparent reason, Zuko basically shrugs and says that it is Azula, and so there is no need to understand why she is doing it.

So why would someone who blames Azula for all the misfortune in his life and is quick to assume the worse out of her want to willingly help her?

And before anyone brings up the climax of The Search, just think about it for a moment from Azula’s POV?

She just tried killing Zuko’s beloved mommy their mother in front of Zuko after a tumultuous trip in which Zuko and his friends found out that she was planning to overthrow Zuko using the “Zuko is a bastard” letter and only let her keep it because they still needed her to find Ursa.

Moreover, Zuko has already made it clear that he blames her for making his life hard in addition to her belief that Zuko locked up her in the abusive institution to break her, when in reality Zuko is so absent minded he never bothered to check the conditions there, not that Zuko's intentions in sending Azula to asylum makes her "treatment" there any better.

So when Azula hears Zuko say he wants to help her, why would Azula believe that Zuko would do anything other than have Aang de-bend her for good before throwing her in a prison cell next to Ozai for life, or worse, back into the asylum?

But moving on, even if one were to disregard the comics, it is pretty clear that Zuko is clearly not the person to help Azula.

For he compares Azula to Aang in terms of how easy bending comes to her, when it is obvious from Azula’s training scene with Lo and Li that she had to work almost as hard (key word almost) as Zuko in order to manifest her natural talent.

Zuko, in order to not face the reality that his grandfather and father are abusive bastards with no love for him, comes up with the mantra of, “Azula always lies,” even though it is clear that she isn’t always lying. For example, when she tells Zuko in his room that Ozai is really going to fulfill Azulon’s order to kill him, or that Ozai views the beginning of Book 2 Zuko as a miserable failure, and so he wants to lock up him up so he can stop “embarrassing” him.

Or when Azula tries opening up to the rest of The Dangerous Ladies and Zuko about how she views herself as a monster, and how Ursa was right to view her as one, Zuko stays silent due to a combination of resentment, fear, and believing Azula that is just lying to gain brownie points with the rest of group after they revealed their various long-standing traumas, despite Azula, along with Mai and Ty Lee, helping him deal with his own issues.

Or how about when Azula is apparently falling to her death during the start of The Southern Raiders, for Zuko initially appears worried that she will die, but the moment she is able to launch herself to the cliffside, he acts annoyed that she even survived.

But the crown jewel that shows TV!Zuko’s care, or lack thereof, for TV!Azula is when Zuko asks Katara to help put Azula in her place when he asks Katara to help him take down Azula so he can take the throne.

For there is no hesitation or any reflection that the reason why he has to outright kill Azula is because he had the right circumstances to overcome their indoctrination and abuse while she never had anyone to help her do the same, and thus has to be put down for the sake of the world.

And yes, Zuko was clearly intending to kill Azula considering he was going to redirect her lightning to win the final Agni Kai until Katara foolishly stepped into the arena, giving Azula a chance take advantage of Zuko’s protectiveness to hit him with lightning without Zuko being able to properly redirect it.

But before anyone accuses of me of twisting Zuko’s behavior and actions to make him seem like a jackass or woobify Azula, there is a reason why I did so other than to show that Zuko doesn’t want to help Azula: to show that not only is he ill-equipped to help her, but also that it is not responsibility to do so.

For what Azula needs, other than medical treatment to help her deal with her, in my opinion, canon schizo-??? disorder (she has severe audiovisual delusions and hallucinations for at least a year straight and her master plan in Smoke and Shadow comes about due to giving into her delusions), is a parental figure who can teach her that love is not conditional while also showing her unconditional love and that fear is for fools, trust is the only reliable way.

For once she learns how to be a functional person and heals, she will be able to start atoning for all her various evil acts and eventually become a healthy, productive member of society.

Which ties back into why it is not Zuko’s responsibility to help her; for in addition to being a teenager who is still trying to overcome his abuse, on top of having reform a superpower after a hundred years of indoctrination while reintegrating it into the world community, Zuko is one of Azula’s principal victims!

For Azula was Zuko’s secondary abuser, abused Mai and Ty Lee, and tried killing or jailing Zuko and/or his loved ones several times (and succeeded several times).

In fact, a key part of Azula's hypothetical atonement is her apologizing to Zuko for her behavior towards him and the people he cares about while also making it clear that she is not entitled to be part of his life, or part his government, and thus wield (real) power again.

Not to mention showing through repeated actions that her words are not just another attempt at manipulation for her own benefit.

But now that I have made it clear that Zuko doesn’t want to help Azula heal, nor is it his responsibility to do so, I am sure people are going to ask who can serve as that parental figure who can help Azula heal?

Well, there are a lot of options: Iroh, if you are part of the group of people who ignore the comics and extended lore; post-comics Ursa, who has already indicated a desire to make up for her parenting mistakes in regards to Azula; an actual medical professional once Zuko realizes the bad state of the asylums and reforms them; or even some random adults who decide to help an obviously broken person desperately seeking guidance in AUs that don’t take into account the comics.

For this is an aside, but it seems pretty clear to me that post-Smoke and Shadow Azula, who is most likely a legal adult, will most likely never find support, even among civilians, due to her crimes and status as the most wanted war criminal fugitive alive.

But getting back to the main point, I don’t get the idea why people think Zuko would want to help Azula, at least in an earnest fashion where Azula is given the time, space, and ability to make mistakes just like Zuko did during his redemption arc? Or why is it his responsibility to help her, when he himself has a lot to figure out about himself and is one of Azula’s victims?

Not when there are a lot of potential adult figures who can help Azula heal from Ozai’s abuse.

Also, it would be nice for one of the remaining Royal Family adult members to try and actually make up for doing absolutely nothing to counter Ozai’s grooming like they did with Zuko, but this post is neither the time nor place for that discussion.

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Why shouldn't the audience after watching ATLA and reading the related comics root for a proper Azula punishment arc instead of an Azula redemption arc? Or why should anyone in-universe want Azula to be redeemed instead of being properly punished?

For I am pretty sure a genocidal would-be tyrant who has attempted matricide, avunculicide, fratricide and is a child kidnapping domestic terrorist and seditionist who has not shown any outward remorse for her actions is not someone who most people would show compassion towards.

And before people get up in arms about people in-universe or out of it practicing selective empathy, let us be frank and admit that selective empathy is something that most “good” people engage in all the time, and is something that most people reading this do all the time without questioning themselves.

I mean, did you feel sympathy when Osama Bin Laden was killed? Or when the U.S Capitol Hill invader was shot? Or when the Sandy Hook killer committed suicide after shooting up an elementary school?

So why would any of Azula’s actual and potential victims feel any sympathy towards her? Especially in an era where the age of majority is lower and they don’t really understand mental health at all?

Shouldn’t people’s, in- and out-of-universe, sympathy be towards all the people she attempted to kill? The person who she did? All the traumatized kids she kidnapped?

And before anyone says that Azula’s mental health issues should at least cause a twenty-first century audience to at least tone down their desire to see Azula be properly punished, I don’t think that is the case.

For even disregarding the fact that a large percentage of the population is still ignorant about mental health issues, something that one children’s franchise, no matter how well-written, can fix by itself, even people today have limits in regards to how much they are willing to accept mental health as a mitigating factor in regards to punishment, even in fiction.

For I know this is a different franchise, but The Joker is a severely mentally ill person after all, and yet it is a pretty popular opinion, if not the supermajority one, that The Joker should have a shoot on sight order and/or that a superhero kill The Joker lest he fills more graveyards with innocent bodies.

So why should Azula be treated any differently? Especially since she is committed to turning Zuko into a tyrant, has shown that she will go to almost any length to ensure the success of her plan, and that her status as the GOAT firebender, in combination with the fact that her power is likely growing by the day, means that it is nigh-impossible to take her safely back into custody even if she suffers another mental breakdown?

“So what about all the people on the airships who were either going to burn the Earth Kingdom with Ozai and/or making sure the ships were operational? Or what about all the people who helped or were complicit in the other Fire Nation war crimes against the Earth Kingdom and Southern Water Tribe? Or how about the rest of the Fire Warriors? How come you are so focused on punishing a 14 or 16/17 girl you misogynistic, ableist POS?!”

Well, in regards to the war, who said that everyone who was complicit in the Fire Nation’s war crimes should not face proper punishment?

For while the comics make it clear that only Ozai and Azula, who was mercifully involuntarily psych warded and was given a "chance", even if she had to create it, to reform, even though she hadn’t shown any indication that she was remorseful, were punished for the Fire Nation’s crimes (ex. The Rough Rhinos are free and became Earthen Fire Industries’ bodyguards), I think one of the biggest mistakes that the Avatar franchise made was not holding a war crimes tribunal after the war to give a proper accounting of all the Fire Nation’s crimes and to make sure that people faced justice.

For in addition to the powerful imagery of seeing the victims of genocide, imperialism, and colonization make their killers and oppressors face accountability on their terms, something that has unfortunately been denied to most IRL victims of both, it would have also sent a powerful message to future generations in-universe *cough*Kuvira*cough that genocide, imperialism, colonization would never be tolerated.

Not to mention, it seems odd that a show so focused on colonialism and imperialism, and their negative effects, denies those negatively harmed by them any real justice. Though Bryke are Westerners after all….

“So do you think everyone who served the Fire Nation should be locked up?”

No, but everyone who directly committed war crimes, like Yon Rha, the people on Ozai’s warships, and the Rough Rhinos, in addition to everyone high up on the chain of command, like Azulon and Ozai’s war council members, should have been subjected to a war crimes tribunal if they were still alive and appropriately punished.

“But what about Zuko, Iroh, Mai, and Ty Lee?”

Yes, they should be tried too, though it is obvious some people will get lightly punished and/or not punished at all due to their actions during the end of the war.

“But Azula was just a mentally ill 14 year old who was just following the orders of her abusive father who was also her supreme sovereign.”

Well, if she is old enough to suggest, help plan, and fully intend to commit genocide, she is old enough to stand trial as an adult and receive a grown-up’s punishment.

Also, the “just following orders” excuse doesn’t really work considering Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee, who are all her peers and close to her age, all turned against Ozai’s regime at one point despite the life or death consequences and/or harsh punishments they ended up facing.

“But isn’t Zuko a sovereign, and thus has the ability to make sure he isn’t subjected to a war crimes tribunal?”

Well, if Zuko is as truly concerned with honor as he says he is, and is not written in an OOC fashion like comics!Zuko, he would willingly subject himself to the tribunal to send a message to the world that he is after real justice, and not a hollow victor’s justice, as well as send a message to his subjects that he is not using the tribunal as an excuse to get rid of his political opponents and/or those who would be hostile to his regime.

For everyone forgets, but Zuko was a co-conqueror of Ba Sing Se, and while we know Zuko changed sides because he meant well, to outside observers it seems like he knew he wouldn’t inherit the throne, at least not without Azula being the real power behind it, and so he joined the Avatar so he could get the throne (outright), even if it meant his nation fell in battle.

And in regards to the Fire Warriors, they should be punished just like Azula should be for engaging in a seditious, mass child kidnapping terrorist plot as part of an ongoing terrorist plot to turn Zuko into a tyrant.

For while the comics don’t give us that much to go off of, from what we do get, it appears that they willingly joined Azula to pay her back for breaking them out of their asylum.

(Smoke and Shadow library edition says that most of them come from Azula’s asylum).

So they should face the consequences of their (apparently) freely chosen actions, though I hope that in the process of doing so, the abusive nature of the asylums becomes public knowledge.

For in addition to it hopefully leading to a mental health revolution in the Fire Nation, Zuko can implement reforms to make sure that the asylums don’t become terrorist breeding grounds like they are as of current canon.

Also, Zuko, by publicly punishing his sister and subjecting her to the same laws that commoners and nobles have to face, would be sending a powerful message to his subjects that, unlike under his forefathers' reigns, the law applies equally to everyone regardless of their status and is not something that is selectively applied by the Fire Lord when it suits them.

So to sum up, it seems pretty clear that the narrative of ATLA seems to prime the audience for a proper Azula punishment arc. For not only has she committed several unforgivable, or at least nigh-unforgivable, crimes, but also has failed to take any responsibility for her actions or show outward remorse.

Thus, the audience most likely wants to see Azula get punished as part of a greater Fire Nation war crimes tribunal and/or for her actions as part of the Fire Warriors.

And while either scenario might be hard for Azula stans fans to watch, at least they have the potential not only serve as a healing moment for people both in or out of the Avatar-verse, but also provide very entertaining and thought provoking moments as well.

For imagine Ozai trying to justify his actions to a war crimes tribunal? Or watching Iroh tensely wait and see if a jury believes his actions against his brother’s regime outweighs the crimes he committed/is responsible for as both an esteemed Fire Nation general and as Azulon’s heir for decades.

(Yes, technically we don’t know if Iroh committed war crimes, but it is highly unlikely that Azulon’s crown prince and general was completely innocent. But I admit this is just a headcanon for now.)

Or imagine the courtroom scene as the Fire Warriors try to justify them following Azula due to being grateful for her breaking them out of their abusive asylum(s)? Or when one of the asylum healers explains the nature of their treatments, and thus it dawns on the audience that the asylums are worse than prison and are likely to breed terrorists due to inmates resenting the society that locked them up there “for their own good” instead of the more merciful option of prison?

For isn’t Avatar at its best when it manages to simultaneously be both entertaining and thought provoking at the same time?

Chapter Text

One of the major complaints that fans often have about ATLA is the fact that the Dai Li decided to follow Azula, a 14 year old girl whose only allies at the time where her two non-bending friends, when logically they should have either continued to stay loyal to Long Feng or try to ingrain themselves with Kuei while also staying loyal to their country.

But I think if we look past the surface facts and omniscient third person viewpoint that we, the viewers, have, the Dai Li definitely made the right decision to betray their country, their king, and Long Feng in favor of Azula.

For what probably happened was that the Dai Li had long realized that it was a matter of time before the Fire Nation took over Ba Sing Se considering it got breached three times in less than five years: Iroh’s siege, The Drill, and the Dangerous Ladies pretending to be the Kyoshi Warriors.

Not to mention Sozin’s Comet was coming, and so it was likely Ozai, who is just as cruel and evil as Sozin, would have used it to burn down the largest remaining resisting nation.

And combined with the fact that Kuei, with the support of the Gaang, had just started to take back power, they had five options: (1) continue to support Long Feng and attempt to put him on the throne; (2) support the Gaang’s invasion plan before either getting stripped of their power or facing jail time for their crimes; (3) support the Gaang’s invasion plan, and, in the event that the Gaang’s plan fails, watch the Earth Kingdom get burned to the ground by the Fire Nation while they probably get tortured for going against the Fire Princess at a key moment; (4) attempt to jail the Dangerous Ladies and use them as hostages or brainwash them and have them infiltrate the Fire Nation; (5) or join Azula and get to keep power by virtue of being her right-hand goons.

In regards to option 1, even if they manage to eliminate Kuei and the Gaang, or at least make them accept Long Feng as ruler, which is a tall task considering the Gaang’s revulsion towards the Dai Li’s mass mind rape campaign, their combat prowess, and the fact that Long Feng murdered Jet in front of them, Long Feng has no legitimacy, nor will he ever be able to gain it.

For Long Feng is heavily implied to have come from a commoner’s bloodline, and thus can’t appeal to tradition, or the mandate of heaven/the divine right to rule, like Kuei and Azula can, no one outside of the Dai Li or Ba Sing Se’s insular elite knows him, and he lacks popular support due to his relative anonymity, something that will get compounded once his crimes become public knowledge thanks to the Gaang if the Dai Li don’t manage to kill all of them quickly.

Thus, the Earth Kingdom is liable to break out into civil war, and thus become easy pickings for the Fire Nation, with all of them getting tortured for going against the Fire Princess in a key moment.

For even though the circumstances were different, the moment the Earth Queen Hou-Ting was assassinated by the Red Lotus, the Earth Kingdom devolved into a state of anarchy that only ended when Kuvira and her men forcibly brought the warlords and roving bands violently to heel while also using their advanced technology and wealth of resources to provide aid to struggling Earth Kingdomers, thereby gaining their support.

And clearly, Long Feng and Dai Li are incapable of replicating Kuvira’s cult of personality and don’t have access to advanced technology or the resources necessary to bring everyone in the Earth Kingdom under their heel, peacefully or violently.

For if they could, wouldn’t they have already installed Long Feng on the throne and won the Hundred Year War already?

In regards to option 2, even if they rejected both Long Feng and Azula and helped the Gaang successful implement Sokka’s invasion plan, therefore bringing the Hundred Year War to a relatively peaceful end, do you really think that they thought that they would have been able to keep operating as the nigh-all-powerful spy network that they had become under Long Feng and/or that they would have not faced punishment for their myriad of vile crimes?

Or do you think they thought that even if they helped the invasion plan go through smoothly they would have been stripped of their power and/or severely punished?

Especially since Kuei had expressed anger for essentially being lied to his entire life by the Dai Li, and the fact that the Gaang has a reputation of being literal social justice warriors?

(Any spy network worth their salt would have found out about the Gaang’s adventures and good deeds.)

In regards to option 3, even though Sokka’s plan seemed fool-proof, there was always the chance that it could fail.

For even if they managed to get to the palace unimpeded, what is not to say that Ozai wouldn’t have used one of his numerous hidden tunnels/rooms/passages to hide until his firebending returned, or that one of guards in Caldera City after seeing the invasion force wouldn’t have been able to send a messenger hawk to Ozai that would reach him well before the invasion force did (did you see how fast those guards who saw Aang and his arrows during The Beach were able to send a messenger hawk, and how fast said hawk was traveling?), and thus prompt him to hide till his bending returned?

(Any component spy network would realize that any well designed palace would have numerous, quickly accessible hiding spots only known to the royals living in it in the case that the royals needed to hide from any domestic or foreign attackers.)

For I know this is years later, but despite having fully realized Aang and Toph at various times at the palace, there are still numerous hidden tunnels, rooms, and passages that Zuko and his guards are not aware of, with the only real plausible explanations, in my opinion, being that they didn’t think to use their seismic senses to map out the passages and tunnels because they forgot, or because they are unable to.

Therefore, if Aang and Toph behave like the older canon counterparts do, and the Dai Li have no evidence to support the idea that Aang and Toph would not make mistakes in the heat of battle when they have to choose who to follow, it is very easy to see the invasion force not being able to find Ozai before the eclipse ends, and thus they all get slaughtered unless Aang has mastered the Avatar State by that point.

For Ozai is likely able to kill Aang before his reflexive Avatar State kicks in thanks to his quick charge lightning.

Not to mention the Dai Li, at the moment they had to choose between Long Feng, Azula, and Kuei, had no idea that Aang could master the Avatar State like that.

And before someone tries to argue that the invasion force in this timeline would be a lot bigger, and thus it would be impossible for the force to lose once they get inside the palace, I don’t think that would be the case considering the Earth Kingdom has such poor logistics that, despite their larger amount of resources and people, they were losing to an increasingly overspread invading force.

Also, if the invasion force was large enough, the Fire Nation would have seen the suspect naval movements, and therefore would have likely beefed up their security to the point that it would have been hard to send in large amounts of troops to Caldera City, even with their secret weapon, the submarines, being unknown to the Fire Nation.

Not to mention they would not have enough waterbenders to pilot enough submarines to carry all the troops considering the small size of the Foggy Swamp Tribe, and the fact that Sokka did not think his father would be able to convince the Northern Water Tribe to help in the canon timeline, despite Sokka’s invasion plan being the best shot pre-Sozin’s Comet at ending the war .

(The above has to be the explanation of why Sokka didn’t ask for any Northern Water Tribe waterbenders to help the invasion, or else why would Sokka half-ass what is the most important thing he will ever do in his life as far as he knows?)

Thus, either they die in the failed invasion, or, if they live and/or where back home, they can do nothing as the Fire Nation probably uses Sozin Comet to end the war while also retaliating against the Earth Kingdom for supporting the invasion.

And in the very small likelihood they survive all of that, they probably end up getting tortured (ex. being sent to the Boiling Rock) for daring to go against the Fire Nation when they, in the form of its Princess, offered the Dai Li a chance to peacefully join them and their goal of spreading “propensity”.

And before anyone says torture is not Ozai or Azula’s style, Ozai disfigured his own son and had a policy of putting enemy POWs in Fire Nation armor while having them fight in the front lines.

Meanwhile, while this does take place after the coup, Azula made it a point in Suki Alone to taunt Suki about the conditions she would face in the Boiling Rock in an effort to break her. And it would not be crazy to assume that Suki was not the first person Azula personally sent to prison to break considering the active and trusted role Azula had in her father’s regime.

(I personally don’t think Azula's mission to capture Zuko and Iroh was the first time her father trusted her with an important task related to ruling, but that is not the focus of this post).

So the Dai Li would not be wrong in assuming that Ozai and/or Azula would be willing to torture them if they defied the Fire Nation and got their hands on the Dai Li afterwards.

In regards to option 4, while it would be more politically expedient to take down the Dangerous Ladies and use them, especially Princess Azula, as a bargaining chip to sue for peace against the Fire Nation, or brainwash them and turn them into sleeper agents, that only works if you can capture them in the first place.

And that is not really possible considering how Mai and Ty Lee are platoon busters (ex. how easily they took out Terra Team) and Azula is implied to be vastly above the two in terms of combat prowess, meaning that any attempt to capture the Dangerous Ladies would end poorly for the Dai Li.

Also, even in the very unlikely event that they managed to capture the Dangerous Ladies, what would make the Dai Li think that Ozai would care, or, if they brainwashed them and sent them to Fire Nation, he would not kill them all for failing him?

For any component spy network would have found out that Ozai burned and disinherited his loyal son because of Zuko’s “weakness”, or that Ozai has a history of banishing those who fail him (ex. Vachir), so why would Ozai act any differently towards the Dangerous Ladies considering in this timeline they failed to capture Zuko, Iroh, or any Gaang member on top of their failure to protect The Drill, and then ghosting him for a long time due to being mind raped by the Dai Li?

“But what about the Gaang? Or Zuko? Weren’t they able to fight the Dangerous Ladies to a standstill at various times during Season 2?”

Yeah, but doesn’t change my conclusion because Season 2 Gaang are casual platoon busters as well considering how easily they fought through the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace’s defenses, and how Aang was able to take out at least a dozen Fire Nation ships filled with soldiers despite only knowing air and waterbending during The Siege of The North. And in regards to Zuko, he was able to take on a group of professional soldiers almost entirely with just his swords despite starving during Zuko Alone, and yet he is vastly below Azula for most of S2.

And before someone tries to say that the Gaang or the Dangerous Ladies are not meant to be platoon busters, consider the facts that: Rebound!Mai was able to solo a New Ozai hideout with Tom Tom strapped on her back without getting any massive power increases or undergoing heavy training; Azula most likely killed or knocked out everyone in her asylum when she broke the Fire Warriors out; and the fact that Azula fodderized Mai in Smoke & Shadow despite Azula noticing that Mai’s knife throwing skills have gotten better.

So it seems pretty clear that the Dai Li would never been able to take the Dangerous Ladies, and even when Azula finds herself alone with the Dai Li, like when Long Feng tried to have her arrested, it is clear that Azula could have killed them all if came down it, something that must been painfully clear to the Dai Li.

“But Iroh surrendered during the climax of The Crossroads of Destiny.”

He clearly wasn’t exerting himself and probably did not want to kill Zuko, or even Azula (Iroh could have killed Azula several times beforehand but didn’t), since they would have probably fought him to the death as far as he knew. Hence, why he only fought to ensure that Katara got away with Aang’s body so Azula couldn’t double tap, and why he surrendered once that objective was achieved.

Besides, if he really wanted to fight, how come he didn’t use his advanced techniques like breathing fire or shooting quick charge lightning, both of which he used earlier during the day when he and Zuko were escaping from the Dai Li?

So that leaves us with option 5 being the only acceptable option to the Dai Li considering the circumstances and their knowledge at the time.

For the Dai Li is first and foremost a spy bureaucracy with no sense of honor, no fucks about their nation or fellow citizens, and a laser minded focus on keeping their privileges and power. And just before Azula’s coup, it looked like they were going to lose everything that mattered to them.

For a giant ass drill shows up a few days ago and almost penetrates their once thought to be impenetrable walls for the second time in five years; Omashu, one of the last remaining strongholds, is taken like less than a month ago with barely any resistance; and the Avatar not only exposed their mass mind raping campaign, but also is empowering their puppet ruler to actively cut off the strings for good.

Yet, when everything seems lost, not only is the Fire Princess out and about in their city, but also generously offers them to join her with no requirements other than helping her take over Ba Sing Se, and thus end the Hundred Year War with as little bloodshed as possible.

And while Azula’s offer might seem too good to be true, you have to put yourself in the Dai Li’s shoes and remember that the Dai Li are in on the big lie.

For they know about the war, about how the Fire Nation has taken over huge sections of the Earth Kingdom, and how it is only a matter of time before the Fire Nation takes over Ba Sing Se if they don’t use Sozin’s Comet to burn it to the ground in a show of force.

Thus, if the predominant, genocidal superpower of world says that they can avoid getting the shit kicked out of them like literally everyone else in their country, you can see why the Dai Li think it is a no brainer to take the offer.

Especially when by swearing allegiance to the heir, or future puppet master depending if Zuko ever “redeemed” himself, of the most powerful royal family on the planet with an established cult legitimizing their rule (ex. Azula’s “divine right to rule” comment, or how the Fire Nation indoctrinates it citizens, especially young kids, to view the Fire Lord as an infallible figure), they not only get more power over Ba Sing Se due to becoming Princess Azula’s right-hand henchmen, which becomes true since while Azula appoints a Joo Dee to be Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator of Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li control the Joo Dees, but also don’t have to deal with any pesky legitimacy issues that would arise if they tried to assert power directly, or by backing Long Feng.

Thus, the Dai Li made the best decision in regards to their self interest that they could have.

In fact, the only reason why it didn’t completely work out in their favor in the long run was because they probably didn’t expect there to be such strong resistance even after Ba Sing Se fell and Aang was presumed to be dead, or that Azula and Ozai would be so cracked as to genocide their own lands despite the massive loss of life and environmental damage that would ensure.

And of course, no one could have predicted Azula’s Sozin’s Comet meltdown, or the events leading up to it, that ended with them being banished from the Fire Nation.

For example, could anyone other than Iroh predict Zuko turning traitor, or that Mai and Ty Lee would commit high treason in such a fashion that it triggered the onset of Azula’s childhood schizo-??? disorder?

So to sum up, if we take a moment to analyze the situation from the Dai Li’s POV when Long Feng commanded them to arrest Azula, it is easy to understand why they chose Azula since it was the only way they could remain in control of Ba Sing Se.

For if you think about it, the only thing the Dai Li care about is control and power.

And who better to give it to them than Princess Azula, the personification of the Dai Li’s ideals as far as they know?

Chapter Text

Here are the reasons why I think the comics suck, or at least why they are lackluster. And if you disagree with any of my points, please feel free to comment down below why so.

1. Writing everyone out of Zuko’s life so he would go to Ozai willingly and use his advice, despite Zuko making Aang promise to kill him if he ever starts acting like Ozai.
2. Making Aang promise to kill Zuko and almost follow through with it until Katara stops him.
3. Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang “convincing" Earth King Kuei to allow the oldest Fire Nation colonies to become independent, despite being dominated by Fire Nation colonials, just to keep families “together” despite separating families due to creating new borders/a new nation-state. It is implied Kuei never got reparations, or at least adequate reparations, and so the loss of trillions of dollars of land/taxes partially motives his daughter and Kuvira in LoK.
4. Have the only people we see, on-panel at least, advocating for the colonies to become independent are Fire Nationals who have direct ties to the old colonial regime and Earth Kingdomers who managed to integrate themselves into the colonial power structure and/or have relationships with Fire Nationals (cough*Sneers*cough). Like they briefly touch upon the colonies’ class structure, and how the Earth Kingdomers are at the bottom of it, but we never see them bring up that issue again. Nor do we ever see any of the lower-class masses talk to the people responsible for their fate: Zuko, Kuei, and/or Aang.
5. Make everyone act stupid so Azula could go on the search for Ursa free and unbound and constantly act a menace thanks to her psychotic breaks since no one asks her what she is hallucinating about before nearly succeeding in committing matricide so she can use a letter (more details below) to overthrow Zuko. All that and then allowing her to escape into a dangerous forest without giving proper chase (ex. have Aang use his Avatar State powered seismic sense, call in June and/or Toph, or just have Zuko run after her when she makes her escape attempt).
6. Have Zuko fail to station (extra) guards at Azula’s asylum, allowing her to break out several of her fellow asylum inmates without Zuko ever finding out.
7. Have Mai find out about the existence of the New Ozai Society, and the fact that her father is the leader of it, but have her not tell Zuko until Zuko has almost been killed and his half-sister, along with her own brother, have been kidnapped by Azula and her mental asylum escapees who are “working” with the New Ozai Society.
8. Have Mai trust Ty Lee’s “aura sense” in order to gauge the trustworthiness of a New Ozai Society pasty she is dating in order to get intel despite already knowing who their leader is and at least one of their hideouts.
9. Have Mai initially honeypot said pasty to also get back at Zuko, but eventually have her fall for him before having him break up her with since it is painfully obvious that she still simps for Zuko, despite Zuko not really working on any of the flaws that caused Mai to break with him in The Promise.
10. Have Zuko try to get back into Mai’s favor while searching for Azula’s terrorist cell, despite the fact it is largely his fault that Azula is free and Mai and Ty Lee are rightfully fearing for their lives, as well as for Tom-Tom’s.
11. Not having Ty Lee confront Azula and get over her fear of Azula, despite one of the main themes of Smoke and Shadow being getting over one’s fears, or at least learning not to have them drive your actions and/or cloud your mind.
12. Not having Mai and Ty Lee confront their imperialist past and explicitly reject it while also making amends. For while the Sisters comic heavily implies that one of Ty Lee’s motivations for joining the Kyoshi Warriors is to make up for her past, it is odd that they don’t do any real self-reflection in regards to their imperialist past despite all the other Fire Nationals who have similar pasts (ex. Iroh, Jeong Jeong, Piandao, Chey, and Zuko) having to do so before they get redeemed. For if they did, maybe, for example, Mai wouldn’t have hesitated to tattle on Ukano, who in addition to wanting to put Ozai back on the throne, seems to want to re-engage in the very imperialism Mai supposedly rejected.
13. Give Azula a very, very, very unjustified and unearned power-boost that allows her to slap most of the non-Avatar State powered main characters without really trying once she regains her “sanity.” Like where would someone who is constantly chi-blocked and straightjacketed before becoming a homeless, penniless, fugitive find the time, space, and energy to train? Especially when Azula’s abilities were previously depicted as a byproduct of having the resources of an entire nation-state behind her and obsessive training in near ideal conditions.
14. Have Azula regain her “sanity”, but end up deciding to implement a 148D plan to make Zuko into a tyrant despite there are better ways of doing so like becoming his advisor or killing his loved ones like Mai or Kiyi.
15. Have the Gaang and the White Lotus continue on with their lives instead of dropping everything to search for the Fire Warriors 24/7. For not only does the Fire Warriors' goal of turning Zuko into a tyrant no matter the cost have the potential to destroy the post-war order they fought so hard to establish, but also the Fire Warriors have proven themselves to be more than a match for the Gaang considering the only reason why Aang and Zuko, or for that matter, everyone who entered the palace while the Fire Warriors were operating in the Garden of Tranquil Souls without anyone having a clue, are still alive is because the Fire Warriors did not want to kill them. Especially if Azula keeps progressing at the rate she is and manages to develop something like instant lethal lightning with full control after she has fired, or, god forbid, the Fire Warriors' psychic smokebending is a precursor to psychic fire and/or lightningbending just like smokebending is a precursor to firebending (Kyoshi when she first attempted to firebend generated smoke just like Aang did when Zuko told Aang to firebend at the start of The Firebending Masters), which itself is a precursor to lightningbending.
16. Have Ursa tell Zuko to never forget who he is, but mind wipe herself of her time in the palace despite the fact that she loses all memory of the kids she supposedly loves and adores. (Note: This is just a disagreement with writing choices leading up to Ursa’s mind wipe. In-universe, Ursa was in a position that no mother should ever have to be in, and thus I don’t judge her for what she did considering she thought that Ozai would be on the throne for decades like his father, and would have succeeded in breaking Azula, which did happen, and Zuko, which almost happened if not for Iroh’s unforeseeable heel-face turn.)
17. Have Ursa write a letter saying that Zuko isn’t Ozai’s kid despite Ursa knowing that she and Zuko only have value if Zuko and Azula are Ozai’s kids. For if Ozai was smart, he could have used the letter to kill them off by showing the letter to Azulon, who would be very displeased at having his eugenics experiment partially ruined and angry that a bastard is in line for the throne. Moreover, having Ursa write such a letter makes Ozai retroactively very stupid, for instead of burning and banishing Zuko, or trying to kill Zuko on DoBS, he instead could have released the letter to the public, essentially disinheriting Zuko without ever getting his hands dirty. Especially when it is established earlier in the comics that Ozai never had any love for Zuko from the moment he was born, instead of Ozai being warped by his ambition like what was implied in the TV show.
18. Disregarding the prior established worldbuilding/engaging in anachronism by having western-style straight jackets, western-style mental asylums, modern wheelchairs, and modern forklifts.
19. Have Sokka get reduced to comedic relief for the most part and inconsistently portray Toph’s power level in order to maintain tension in the various plots she is involved in. For in Sokka’s case, would it have been too hard to show Sokka get further trained by Piandao, learn chi-blocking from the Kyoshi Warriors, and/or take leadership positions (ex. helping his father govern the industrializing Southern Water Tribe), helping plant the seeds for the hyper-competent leader and non-bending combat master he is implied to have become as an adult? And in Toph’s case, for example, she is able to catch, using her earthbending or hands, Sokka and Chong, despite all of them being in the air, and thus having no way to sense their position. But despite these feats, Yaling is able to provide Toph with a competitive fight by taking advantage of Toph’s inability to see in the air. Like if that was the case, how come the Dai Li or King Bumi during their fights didn’t take advantage of this weakness despite (most likely) having prior intel on Toph?
20. Making the Southern Water Tribe look racist for being suspicious of their Northern brothers, Kuei, and Zuko when it was the Northern Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom that allowed the Fire Nation to genocide their waterbenders without helping them. Especially considering Zuko is the leader of a newly post-imperialist nation, on top of being an important member of the previous genocidal ruling regime before his defection. And this is compounded further when it is revealed that the North wants to essentially colonize the South for its oil, proving the skeptical Southern Water Tribesmen/women right.
21. Have Ursa be able to make a mega op poison (it is colorless, odorless, and does not elicit any symptoms in those who ingest it) on command and on short notice with materials easily found in the palace, but have her never think to use it on Azulon and/or Ozai until Ozai is going to kill Zuko at Azulon’s command.
22. Never explain how Zuko managed to make Azula a non-entity in Fire Nation politics; how he managed to make amends to Kyoshi Island after burning it, something that Suki, Alone explicitly points out angered the Islanders, to the point that the other Kyoshi Warriors were ok with supporting his regime, let alone becoming his bodyguards; and whether or not he managed to help all the people Azula banished.
23. Have Aang almost get killed by some mental asylum escapees, or more generally have the Gaang constantly suffer the worf effect so they don’t stomp every Comics!antagonists like they should based on their show feats.
24. Never showing Zuko finding out what happened to his ship crew, and whether or not he decided to ever honor those who were killed by Koizila.
25. Not touching or trying to resolve the lingering plot threads in the TV show: Hama, Long Feng, and the rogue/ banished Dai Li. Especially since bloodbending eventually becomes common enough that Katara got it banned, and the Dai Li are back defending Ba Sing Se during Korra’s era. Like how did bloodbending get spread when Hama was last seen locked up again, Katara doesn’t seem like the type of person to teach it to others (willingly), and it doesn’t seem that people are likely to come up with it on their own due to not being in the same desperate situation as Hama? Did Long Feng survive the coup attempt? And if so what is his plan to take back control of the Dai Li (Are they even still a thing? Are they independently plotting their revenge?) and/or the Earth Kingdom, assuming he is now in Kuei’s custody? Is he going to try to take revenge on Kuei, the Dangerous Ladies, Zuko, and the Gaang for ruining him? And why would Kuei and/or his daughter ever be ok with reinstating the organization that not only betrayed their own country, but also was also ok with their own countrymen getting genocided?
26. Never showing someone recognize General Iroh in the Jasmine Dragon and have him explain why it was a good idea to set up shop in the city he besieged for years. Especially when he apparently operates with his given name instead of Mushi, the whole situation reeking of economic imperialism, and the fact that he never actually made amends to the people he had hurt (Earth Kingdom commoners) or attempts to rectify his past actions by, for example, using the money he makes from the Jasmine Dragon to help those orphaned, widowed, and/or wounded by his siege, at least on panel. Or have someone question why he chooses to stay in Ba Sing Se and engage in his tea-maker retirement dream instead of doing something actually productive like mentoring his inadequately prepared and way over his head nephew in statecraft.
27. Never showing whether or not Zuko made amends to Lee’s family or Song’s. Also never showing whether or not he owned up to robbing people in the Earth Kingdom and offered to make them whole again. For if part of Zuko’s redemption arc was making it up to the Gaang for hurting them, shouldn’t Zuko help all the people he hurt during his time as a villain to the best of his abilities?
28. Not have Zuko, or anyone around him, advocate for and implement prison reform, at least on panel, in regards to the Fire Nation considering a not so small number of his friends, allies, and loved ones have done hard time in the canonically torture-like, at best, Fire Nation prison system. Or, if one wanted to be consistent in regards to how Zuko treats Ozai and the Red Lotus, explain why Zuko doesn’t reform the Fire Nation prison system. Especially considering how Suki's time in the Boiling Rock almost broke her, as seen in the climax of Suki, Alone, and should have caused her to experience PTSD considering her treatment (ex. she got put into solitary for two weeks in a very narrow room).
29. In general, not having Zuko face any real consequences for his actions, take tangible steps to make sure that he doesn’t make them again, and/or make sure bad actors won’t be able to hurt him, his subjects, his allies, and/or his loved ones again. Like what protocols does he establish in order to facilitate better communication between his regime and Kuei so a repeat of the Yu Dao crisis never occurs? How come he doesn’t really face any organized movement from the Earth Kingdom after the whole Yu Dao fiasco showed a willingness to break agreements with the Earth Kingdom without notice and basically cost the Earth Kingdom billions, if not trillions, dollars worth of land, labor, and resources? How come the only real organized Fire Nation movement against Zuko (so far) was the New Ozai Society/Safe Nation Society that was easily defeated by a bunch of mentally ill, homeless, penniless fugitives? Especially when Katara’s standalone comic shows that the average Fire Nation citizen’s indoctrination is not something that will go away with just a leadership change (ex. the soldier in question calls Aang’s airbending demonic). And going further, how come we don’t see the specific steps Zuko is taking to de-Sozinize his country? How come we never see Zuko engage in court/palace politics despite being an absolute monarchy of a centralized, industrial superpower? What steps is he taking to make sure he doesn’t pursue ill-advised actions like the fear-based policies he enacted in Smoke and Shadow? Or for that matter, what steps is he taking to make sure that not only do the Fire Warriors get back into custody before they do something irredeemable, but also to make sure that the asylums stop abusing their patients, if not for wanting to treat the mentally ill better, then at least to make sure they don’t become terrorist breeding grounds that they seem to have become? What steps is Zuko taking (ex. learning how to generate lightning, or combine his sword skills with his firebending like his Old Friends picture suggests he did) in order to close the gap that has reopened between him and Azula considering she has eliminated his trump card over her (lightning redirection), has become the GOAT firebender as a teen, has shown that Zuko can not protect his loved ones from her, and has told him in his face that she will keep messing with him until he stops her or he snaps? What has Zuko done to rectify the fact that his security protocols got breached and almost got him killed? Did he figure out that it was Azula feeding the New Ozai Society intel, and so he has to change every protocol that Azula potentially had knowledge of? Or did Ukano have a mole in Zuko’s detail, and so Zuko has to order a sweep of his security detail, or even everyone working in the palace, to root out Ozai loyalists?

Chapter Text

Lately, there seems to be a popular strain of thought in ATLA fandom that the 16 year old Zuko was dishonorable in accepting his clearly mentally unstable sister’s Agni Kai challenge for the Fire Nation throne.

Or that the 16 year old Zuko challenging the 14 year old Azula to an Agni Kai is the same as the middle aged Ozai challenging the 13 year old Zuko to an Agni Kai due to “disrespecting” him in his war council meeting.

But when you look at the complete context, not only is there no equivalence whatsoever between Ozai’s challenge and Zuko’s acceptance, but also Zuko did the honorable and most sensible thing he could have considering the circumstances.

For it is it sad that Azula’s mental state deteriorated so hard that Zuko, who she is normally superior to, believed he could take her one on one?

Yes.

It is sad that two siblings, who, despite all that happened between them, do deep down care for each other, and yet, instead of being able to resolve their issues peacefully, instead have to fight each other till one of them is dead or subdued due to being on the opposite sides of a war that started long before either of them was born?

Yes.

It is sad that Iroh said that he could not fight his younger brother because history would negatively view two siblings fighting for the throne while in the same breath sending his underage surrogate son to fight his underage niece to death? 

Or that instead of subduing Azula himself with a handful of his fellow White Lotus members, Iroh instead deliberately choose to leave the fate of the Fire Nation and his remaining non-Ozai family in two teenagers' hands (Zuko and Katara) in favor of going on an ego trip liberating Ba Sing Se? Especially since TV!Iroh, even when out of shape, has hype and feats that suggest that he can easily defeat TV!Azula without hurting her or getting himself hurt?

Yes.

It is sad that Ozai, if he knew that Zuko was going to challenge his prodigy for the, as far as he knows, now worthless Fire Nation throne, would probably encourage it since in his twisted mind, either Azula gets to “redeem” herself for “failures” and for lying to his face about the Avatar’s survival, or Zuko will have done the world a favor by eliminating his “disappointing” daughter, who was not worthy of his “love” after all?

Yes.

It is sad that instead of getting a real chance to heal and atone for her actions after getting involuntarily psych warded, Azula instead got abused in her asylum to the point that her mental health further degraded, causing fans, and probably everyone in-universe outside of Zuko and Ursa after the actions she took because of said degraded mental health, to believe that she was always a psycho and/or that she had “second chance”, and yet threw it away?

Yes.

But the key point is that Azula was the agent of a genocidal, imperialist, colonizing regime, and was going to continue perpetuating violence on the world if she took the throne. Meanwhile, Zuko was an anti-imperialist seeking to take the throne so he could stop the Fire Nation’s unjust and vile war of aggression. 

And that Azula, even if she was mentally stable, was not going to be peacefully persuaded that everything she had been taught was wrong. Nor was she going to be peacefully persuaded that the world would never trust her on the throne, especially when Zuko, who at the point of the Agni Kai had shown he was a committed anti-imperialist, was a viable claimant and had a close connection with the Avatar.

For while we, the audience, know that Azula does have inner conflict and wishes that there was another path to take other than the one her father set out for her, Zuko and Katara don’t know that.

But what they do know is that: Azula is the hyper-competent Fire Princess who hunted them across the Earth Kingdom; that Azula is the person who overthrew Ba Sing Se with just two friends while also managing to turn Zuko and put a lightning bolt in Aang’s back; that she helped suggest  the “let’s burn the Earth Kingdom” plan, or at best suggested scorched earth tactics; that she actively encouraged the cruel treatment of prisoners of war like Suki; and that she started actively hunting them again once Team Avatar made a public reappearance on the Day of Black Sun.

And in Zuko’s case, Azula was his secondary abuser from childhood, attempted to kill him several times, and, as far as he knows, killed the love of his life after she saved him and half of Team Avatar from boiling alive in the Boiling Rock.

Also, Zuko was probably thinking ahead to when he needed to assert authority once he, Aang, and Katara successfully overthrew Ozai’s regime, and thus needed some way to legitimize his claiming of power.

For as far as the average Fire Nation citizen would be concerned, Zuko would be the traitorous crown prince who turned on his nation just when they were going to fulfill Sozin’s dream for the world in favor joining the demonic Air Nation Avatar so he could overthrow his highly regarded father and war hero sister so he could take the throne for himself.

And to make things even worse, Zuko’s only real domestic allies would be: the traitorous former Crown Prince General Iroh, the traitorous deserters Jeong Jeong, Piandao, and Chey, and the treasonous Ladies Mai and Ty Lee, if the Ladies miraculous survived being executed by Azula as far as Zuko is concerned.

So when Azula not only appears to be severely off her A-game, but also gift-wraps Zuko the means to legitimately take the throne, Zuko did what any sensible person would have done and accepted it, a choice that is vindicated by canon.

For even after Aang de-bends Ozai before allowing Zuko to jail him, and Zuko manages to involuntary psych ward Azula after winning their Agni Kai, Zuko constantly faces assassination attempts in Ozai’s name, and even an organized Ozai restoration movement in the form of the New Ozai Society, barely managing to survive all these threats to his life.

(Legacy tells us that Zuko officially won the Agni Kai even though Azula burned him, presumably because she attacked a non-duelist.)

So if Ozai, who had been defeated by a fully realized Avatar at the height of his power and spiritually mutilated as punishment for his transgressions against balance, was still was able to invoke such feelings in the Fire Nation population, imagine what would have happened if Zuko, instead of fighting Azula in an Agni Kai, instead decided to jump her in a 2 v 1 with a “snow peasant” before forcing the Fire Sages at fire and/or ice point to crown him Fire Lord?

Well, in my opinion, either Azula becomes an especially potent martyr if she dies, even compared to the scenarios where Azula dies in the Agni Kai since at least Agni Kais have the built in assumption that you are willingly risking your life by engaging in one, or, assuming that the 2 v 1 still ends with Azula alive and involuntarily psych warded instead of being killed, Zuko would have probably faced an Azula restoration movement. 

And in the latter scenario, assuming that Azula manages to escape Zuko’s custody like she does in canon due to Aang's unwillingness to use energybending except as an alternative to summary execution and Zuko’s selfish desire to find Mommy at all costs, even if it means putting the post-war order in danger, instead of Azula eventually realizing that no one will support her claim to the throne, and thus her "realization" that her destiny is to “help” Zuko, Azula instead would have joined up with the movement and easily dispatched Zuko and his friends/allies before restoring the old regime en route to restarting the Hundred Year War.

And obviously Zuko wants to keep on living alongside his friends and allies so that they can, among other things, build the world of peace and love that they desire instead of the world of hatred and subjugation that the Fire Nation created during the Hundred Year War.

Not to mention, at the time of Azula’s challenge, Zuko didn’t even know that energybending was a thing, making it more crucial that he delegitimize Azula, for even if she was jailed or psych warded, if she managed to escape his custody, she could easily train to surpass him once again before attempting to violently overthrow him.

And before you call this fear unfounded, Azula did canonically manage to surpass Zuko again post-Sozin Comet, and has attempted, and is still attempting to, overthrow Zuko, either by outright overthrowing him, or by turning him into her puppet.

But to wrap things up, while it is tragic that that the Final Agni Kai had to happen, that Azula never got the help she needed after loosing, and that the Agni Kai is used to demonize Azula, the fact is that considering what Azula was fighting for, and the fact that Zuko needed all the help in legitimize his rule while also delegitimizing his main probable rival claimant and her potential to be a potent martyr if he did end up having to kill her, Zuko did the honorable and sensible thing by accepting Azula’s Agni Kai challenge.

Chapter Text

A lot of people when watching ATLA, or reading the post-Sozin’s Comet comic books, bemoan the fact that no one really wants to help Azula, who, underneath the outward exterior of snark, smugness, and exuberant confidence, is someone who is well aware that she is a bad person, but wishes that it did not have to be the case, especially after after Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and Ozai “abandon” her, and thus she had to face the consequences of her actions.

For if she just had a rescue parent or even a friend who won’t ever give up on her, as people often say, she could have either dealt with the emotions and thoughts she had repressed so long and not fallen into long-term madness, or, even if her childhood schizo-???? disorder manifested, she could have learned how to deal with it while also becoming a much healthier and better person than what she ended up becoming in the comics.

Especially since it seems pretty clear, at least in my opinion, that Azula emulated Ozai and fully bought into his toxic ideologies and beliefs due to feeling she had no choice due to being the fire princess and not wanting to end up like Zuko (burned and banished by Ozai after spending his life being verbally abused by Ozai), Iroh (lost his birthright and nation's respect due to being “soft”), Azulon (Azula is way too smart to not have realized at one point that Azulon was most likely killed by Ozai and/or Ursa), Lu Ten (died presumably due to doing his “duty” to his nation, something that Ozai would mostly likely make Azula do in the future as well, but not having enough martial prowess to survive), or Ursa (banished or killed as far as Azula knew).

However, as sad as it sounds, it makes complete sense that no one wants to help Azula.

For part of the problem is that, at the very least, she is coded as suffering from schizophrenia or something of that nature, which requires actual antipsychotics (as far as I know) to treat the symptoms, and therefore it seems highly unlikely that the fantasy equivalent of 19th century Asia is going to be able to treat such symptoms without the necessary medication, especially when IRL 21st century Asia, or humanity in general, can't do so despite having way more mental health knowledge than the humans in ATLA.

And while Azula is attractive, and thus might on paper be able to attract someone willing to “fix” her (yes, I know this trope is toxic, but there is a point I am trying to make), The Beach showed that, despite said attractiveness, her personality makes her so revolting that no one would be around her willingly.

And before before people say, “Ty Lee willingly choose to spend time with Azula at Chan’s party,” that can easily be explained by Ty Lee being harassed by boys, and thus wanting to be next to a “friend” so the boys at the party would stop trying to get with her, especially since Zuko and Mai weren't nearby and Ty Lee at that point knows that Azula is boy repellent.

Also, let's be real now, if Azula was real and we didn’t have the benefit of the third person omniscient view that we as viewers have, would you want to interact with her any more than you have to? Well, I don’t think so, explaining why no one really makes an effort to help Azula in the time period post-Sozin’s Comet, but pre-The Search, despite Azula hitting her lowest point, and thus being most receptive to change in addition to being safely restrained with no political power whatsoever.

For Iroh thinks she is crazy, and in the Legacy of The Fire Nation blames her for her own abuse and her response to it.

Zuko, while he does put her in asylum and doesn't get her bending removed, even assuming Aang was willing to take Azula’s bending in the first place, is fine with never checking up on her until he needs her to extract intel from Ozai about Ursa’s possible location.

Ozai is in jail for life, and besides, it was not like he was the reason why she ended up the way she did. No, not all all…

All of the Gaang except for Aang see her as the devil and want her locked away for good. 

Meanwhile, Aang is too busy helping rebuild the world after a hundred years of war to engage in the intensive and very long meditation/therapy Azula needs. Not to mention, Aang helping Azula assumes that Katara would allow Aang within lightning blast range without a sizable contingent, or the rest of the Gaang around, which is a little too much for one to believe considering the anger Katara has towards Azula for killing Aang as depicted in The Bridge.

In regards to Mai and Ty Lee, Azula bullied them, turned them into child soldiers against their will, put their loved ones in danger multiple times, and when they finally stood up for themselves and/or their loved ones, were put in jail for life by Azula. So why would they want to help, in the rosiest interpretation of their relationship, their life-long frenemy who already forsook them first, or, in the harshest interpretation of their relationship, their life-long abuser who they think no longer has any redeeming qualities, if she ever had them?

Lo and Li are missing in action after the events of Sozin’s Comet and probably wouldn’t help even if they weren’t considering they were Azula’s secondary abusers after all.

The other world leaders, including the White Lotus, hate her, view her as a threat, and probably disprove of Zuko and Aang's leniency towards her.

And in regards to the rest of the Fire Nation, including the general population, they seem to only care about serving the crown, so it is not like they would care to break her out and risk the wrath of their Fire Lord and a fully realized Avatar. Especially once word spread of her breakdown, the banishments she issued during said breakdown, and the fact that she lost to her weaker, traitorous brother and a snow peasant during Sozin’s Comet. 

For does the Fire Nation in the early years of the post-war era seem like the type of place to be understanding of mental health issues, and how the circumstances behind Azula’s mental deterioration would break most, if not all, children?  Or would they be the type of place to shame for her mental illness and resulting “weakness”, and therefore treat her like a broken tool, even after praising her as a war hero not even a couple months ago?

And once we get into the comic storylines that involve Azula, it becomes even more painfully clear that no one wants to help Azula, and that no one really cares for Azula.

For Mai and Ty Lee have rightfully disavowed her, especially since Azula, as of current canon, has never shown any contrition towards them, and Azula decided to kidnap Tom Tom as part of a spirit larp motivated by Mai’s nightmares as child in an apparent attempt, at least partially, to get back at Mai for her “betrayal".

Ursa doesn't seem to show that much care outside of a short conversation with Zuko as they are sailing back to the palace and when she finally gets to berate Ozai after all the years of torment he put her through, which sadly makes sense. And this is because for most of Ursa’s time with Azula, she probably saw Azula, and not Zuko, as the successful result of Azulon’s eugenics experiment that had caused Azulon to have her kidnapped and forcibly bred by Ozai.

Or in other words, Ursa most likely, at least subconsciously, sees Azula as basically the reason why her life went to hell. And why would anyone want to help someone who is basically responsible for your life becoming a nightmare, even if it is your daughter in Ursa’s case?

The Gaang outside of Aang thinks she's a psycho, something that is not helped when they, with their limited as hell mental health knowledge, have to deal with Azula’s actions caused her hallucinations and delusions, including her attempted murder of Noriko. And Aang, again, is way too busy to actively help Azula.

Ozai only sees her as a tool to facilitate his return to power, hence why he told her about the “bastard” letter since he was probably hoping Azula would use it start a civil war after she either made sure that Ursa was no longer alive or killed her, eliminating the one person who could credibly say the letter is a lie.

Her fellow cosplayers Fire Warriors are already losing patience with her, as evidenced by Zirin’s annoyance with Azula’s mass kidnapping plan, and will probably leave Azula like everyone else does once they realize that Azula’s plan basically turned them into seditious, child kidnapping, domestic terrorists for no apparent benefit other than to stroke her ego and mask her lingering insecurities.

And while Zuko outwardly says that he wants to help Azula, I don’t think that is the case since, even if the characters say they believe in certain things, what they do in practice is what we should use to judge them since actions are greater than words.

And what do Zuko’s actions say?

Well, when pushed to his limit, which causes people to express their true feelings, Zuko blames her for everything bad that occurred in his life, like the real reason why his early life was so shitty wasn’t due to Ozai and Azulon.

Even after agreeing to Azula’s terms to go on the search for Ursa, Zuko never once thinks to ask Azula’s asylum healers what her symptoms are like, what might trigger them (cough*Ursa*cough), and what might he do to make sure Azula doesn’t slip. 

And this pattern of negligence continues even after Zuko finds out about her bonkers plan to remold him into Ozai 2.0, despite the fact that if he actually took the time to investigate Azula’s treatment, and thus why it went wrong, not only would he have found out about the Fire Warriors escaping, but also would have found out about the abusive nature of the asylum, and how it was behind comics!Azula’s deteriorated mental state, thus giving him a chance to get Azula the help she needs once she is back in custody.

Finally, as a general point, if it was a mentally ill Katara that ran off into Forgetful Valley, what do you think the Gaang would have done? If it was a mentally ill Suki that ran off into the Forgetful Valley, what do you think the Kyoshi Warriors, Ty Lee, and/or Mai would have done? If it was a mentally ill Iroh that ran off into the Forgetful Valley, what would Zuko and Ursa have done? 

Well, I feel pretty confident in saying that they would not settle for a half assed search where they didn't get Toph, and her OP, miles wide seismic sense, and/or June and her shirshu to search the valley. Especially considering the last time anyone saw Azula, she was deep in a psychotic breakdown and did not seem in the right mental shape to survive in the wilderness, let alone a valley noted for its dangerousness like the Forgetful Valley. 

(Though I admit the above argument assumes that a psychotic Azula was not good enough to avoid detection by Toph or June’s shirshu, or that she was not able to escape the Forgetful Valley before Zuko could call for more help.)

But to wrap things up, it makes complete sense why no one wants to help Azula, and thus she will never be able to redeem herself. For who the hell is going to be her rescue parent or friend who will never give up on her? 

For the only reason why Zuko, who was subjected to similar, if not worse, abuse and indoctrination, was able to redeem himself was because he had arguably the GOAT parental figure in Western Animation give him unconditional love and guidance, even after he helped put him in jail for life. 

But alas, that same figure thinks Azula is crazy, and Azula’s relationship with her mother is too fucked up for Ursa to serve that role. 

And while maybe someone from the White Lotus could have stepped in, it would have already happened in the year to two years she spent in the asylum. But it didn't, and now most likely will never happen. And no one else, other than Aang, who due to his Avatar duties can’t give Azula the help she needs, would work because she would view them below her station, and thus wouldn’t be receptive to their help, and/or they despise her. 

Thus, while it is sad, the reality of Azula’s situation is that no one really cares for her, or at least not enough to help her. And while maybe in some future version of the Fire Nation, their version of CPS could have stepped in and removed Ozai and Azulon from her life before they really damaged her, the sad reality is that she lives in the fantasy equivalent of 19th century Asia. 

Hence, why I believe that Azula’s story will continue to be a tragedy short of Azula miraculously turning herself around or one or more characters, preferably Ursa and/or Iroh, having a change of heart. And why I think ATLA viewers will have to live the grim reality that the conclusion to Azula’s story will most likely not be a happy one.

Chapter Text

Beam (DID Plus Avoidant Personality Disorder)

Born in 84 A.G. as the second child of three, and the only daughter of an upstart noble and a stay at home mother, Beam was expected to marry into nobility considering how well her father had done selling steel to the Fire Nation Navy and the fact that she had inherited her mothers’ good looks.

But Beam, for a lack of better words, was often detached from reality and quickly became a source of shame for her family. For Beam would often drift out of reality into her own little world whenever confronted with large amounts of stress. 

And what causes stress in Beam? Being around strangers, especially large numbers of them like parents’ hosted one of their frequent parties in an attempt to move up in Fire Nation High Society.

In fact, Beam started wearing her distinctive hairstyle plus dye in an attempt to avoid having people come to her much to her brothers and parents displeasure. And when that didn’t work, she started to wear masks such as those based on the dark water spirit or the dragon emperor.

On a side note, the only thing that really helped Beam was firebending, where she had a natural gift. However, due to her performance issues, whenever her brothers and/or parents came to watch, she always messed up her routines, leading them to cancel Beam’s lessons when she was 16 in order to focus on making Beam marriageable. 

This caused Beam to despair and undergo a nasty episode in which she wholeheartedly believed she was the dark water spirit and almost killed her older brother, who was “obviously” the Dragon Emperor. Said brother also happened to be the one who suggested her parents cancel the firebending lessons and make Beam a proper woman since he was going to get married soon and didn’t want his fiancee’s family to revoke the marriage contract once they better got to know his “weirdo” of a sister.

The above incident was the last straw for her parents, who had her involuntarily committed after coming to the “conclusion” that nothing would fix their “madwomen” of a daughter.

Aiko (Clinical Depression)

Born in 87 A.G. as the unexpected last daughter of a merchant and a very low level noblewomen, life has always been a struggle for Aiko. Her mother had her in her early 40s after unexpectedly getting pregnant and giving birth to Aiko prematurely. Aiko and her mother barely survived but her mother ended up suffering from postpartum depression, hurting their mother-daughter bond.

Aiko grew up seemingly loved, but in reality she was always sad. And no amount of gifts, such as some of the best firebending tutors in the land, could ever make Aiko happy for it appeared from Aiko’s POV that her mother never wanted to do anything with her while she happily gave her love and time to her oldest two kids, who were both boys and going to join the war effort. 

That and she was relentlessly bullied in school for her demure size; one day she tried standing up for herself by getting into an impromptu fight with her main bully, but she accidentally badly burned her due to being actually quite skilled in firebending. While Aiko managed to avoid jail or getting into trouble, the trauma of almost killing some made Aiko withdraw further into herself much to her parent’s grief.

Her brothers were the main positive thing in her life, for they were understanding of her and didn’t really push her that hard...except in firebending where they were the only people she felt safe enough after her incident.

However, things took a turn for the worse when her brothers finally joined the army and died in the very same maneuver that Zuko talked out against as a 13 year old. And in her grief, Aiko tried hanging herself though the noose broke just before it went taunt and she ended up knocking herself out.

And when she woke up, she found herself in the asylum….

Chyou (Bipolar Disorder)

Born in 84 A.G. as the adopted child of two low tier Hu Xin Provinces (colonial) nobles who were unable to have kids of their own. Her parents tried their best with Chyou, but she was a very difficult child to raise, for, in their perspective, one moment Chyou was a hyper energetic girl who was all too willing to do anything to achieve her long-term goals and whims. Goals that included being the best firebender in her school and being a proper noblewoman. And whims including a desire to shave half her head though that particular fulfilled whim didn’t really harm Chyou for she liked the hairstyle and kept it much to her parent’s dismay. 

But in other moments, Chyrou was a heavily depressed girl, who couldn’t even be bothered to get out of her bed no matter how hard her parents tried to encourage/bribe/threaten her. 

However, these “cycles” were just subtle enough that with her parents covering for her, Chyou could pass as a normal kid...that is until one night, she overheard a conversation between her parents talking about how much Chyou looked like her mother’s sister. Confused since she thought she had no blood relations with either of her parents (they told her she was adopted from a young age since Chyou doesn’t share that much in common with either with her parents), she confronted them and the told Chyou her true origin.

Chyou was in fact the love baby of an Earth Kingdom soldier and a Fire Nation noblewomen who was Chyou’s “mother’s” sister. And while the Fire Nation is progressive in terms of gender roles, it was against the law for Fire Nation noblewomen to copulate with the males of the other nations. 

For Sozin’s reasoning was that the strong men of the Fire Nation could civilize the demure women of the other nations while the barbarians’ uncivilized blood could easily overwhelm the wombs of their women, which were needed to make sure their great nation would never lack loyal citizens. In reality, due to the patriarchal nature of inheritance and property ownership, Sozin feared the colonized enemy would marry into Fire Nation nobility and basically overthrow him once their numbers reached critical mass.

But getting back on track, it wasn’t discovered that Chyou’s real mother was having the baby of an Earth Kingdom soldier, let alone she was going to elope with him. So the Fire Nation tried to capture the soldier and kill him, but he ran off. However, after allowing Chyou’s true mother to give birth, the Fire Nation had her killed off. But, Chyou’s Aunt and Uncle took pity on Chyou and successfully begged the authorities to let them raise Chyou as their own kid.

Chyou’s Aunt and Uncle begged for Chyou’s forgiveness and she gave it to them...though she later had a manic episode that caused her to sneak out of her Aunt’s and Uncle’s house to search for her father, hoping she would get to meet him.

It took several weeks and all of the tracking and survival skills she learned in school, but she found the last place her father inhabited. But when she knocked on the door, her bio grandma opened the door and, once Chyou explained who she was, told the “lying ash maker to get away from me and never come back unless you want to die” in addition to telling Chyou that her father died during General Iroh’s march to Ba Sing Se. 

For Chyou’s bio grandma never knew about her son’s relationship with Chyou’s mother, let alone that he was going to have a child with her and thus thought the young firebender was punking her...not that it would have made a difference for after she couldn’t even bury her son due to him being completely burned to ashes, she developed an intractable hatred towards the Fire Nation and especially firebenders. And that hatred wouldn’t dissipate even if her own granddaughter was one of those “ash makers.”

Heartbroken at the rejection, Chyou then fell into a serious depressive state and was going to kill herself until she was apprehended by June and returned to her family, who had been paid by Chyou’s parents to find her before the colonial authorities did. For if the “mixed breed” had been found going “back” to her Earth Kingdom family, Chyou would have been killed for her “genetic disloyalty” caused by her parentage.

And when Chyou kept uncontrollably talking about her failed trip, Chyrou’s parents made a hard decision and had her temporarily involuntarily committed since they would rather have her suffer at the asylum (as well as get help for her myriad of issues) than have her rambling expose her “genetic disloyalty” and have her brutally executed, making all their pleadings to allow them to raise her pointless.

However, bigoted political hardliner healers in the asylum saw her history and decided unilaterally that she was a threat to society and so manipulated her record to make so she had died, leaving Chyou’s Aunt and Uncle (who were pretty old) heartbroken to the point they died within a couple of months of each other and turning Chyou’s temporary stay into a permanent stay.

Chyou, depending on whether she is having a manic episode or depressive episode, oscillates between believing her Aunt and Uncle haven’t given up on her and believing that they have finally given up on account of being a disgrace due to her mental issues and bloodline.

Zirin (Oppositional Defiant Disorder With Mild Conduct Disorder)

Born in 85 A.G. as the only daughter of some minor nobles who live in Caldera City. She has ODD, which manifests in her explosive temper, which her parents tried solving by doing everything, including getting her training in firebending, which Zirin has a natural aptitude in considering she became a master by 16.

But despite her parent’s best efforts, her anger still didn’t really subside, leading up to an incident where she burned a highly sought out suitor for rubbing her the wrong way, leading her reputation to sink and make her unmarriable, making Zirin worthless in her traditionalist parents’ eyes.

Zirin offered to join the Fire Nation military so she could be useful, but her traditionalist parents said no since the military is not the proper place for a young noblewoman. So they had her involuntarily admitted to the asylum…

Ting (Schizophrenia)

Born in 82 A.G. as the daughter of a minor Fire Nation noble and an Earth Kingdom commoner (that her father took a liking to) who lived in Yu Dao, Ting on the surface supposedly lived a charmed life. But her life was anything but charmed, for she didn’t not inherit her mother’s slim face and body, but had the stout body and face of a typical Earth Kingdomer. Meaning that it would be next to impossible to marry her off to another noble family for even in the colonies, there was a preference for Fire Nation traits among the nobility.

Not helping was just after Ting was 6, she would suffer periodically from hallucinations of her father whenever she messed up in school or in court, often having her speech deteriorate into “incoherent” babbling (ex. Ting asking “him” to stop hitting her) and often fighting back against a person who wasn’t there.

Obviously, this was just another thing that made Ting a massive disappointment in her father’s eyes.

So upset as his “mistake” Ting’s father often beat up his wife and daughter and seeing how Avatar takes place in fantasy land 19th century Asia, there was no one who they could turn to. In fact the only reason why Ting was “tolerated” was because she was an elite firebender, who naturally excelled at Sozin Style firebending due to her rage and self-loathing caused by her “madness.”

Thus, even if Ting was unmarriable, she was likely going to have a good career in the Fire Nation Army. That is until one night when Ting was 16 witnessed a really bad argument between her drunk parents that ended up with her father breaking her mother’s arm.

Enraged and having enough, she fought her father and ended up badly burning him in public as he tried to escape her. 

The authorities then restrained her and tried to put her on trial, but horrified at what she had done, she had a severe episode that made the authorities doubt her sanity.

So sensing an opportunity to save face and not have his dirty laundry aired, Ting’s father authorized the colonial authorities to ship Ting to a homeland mental asylum for “treatment” damn well knowing they would most likely never let Ting out. And he had authorized Ting’s involuntary committal at the dead of night so Ting’s mother could not disapprove.

Gamon (Higher Functioning Autism)

Born in 83 A.G. to two high functioning autistic former soldiers living in Hama’s village, Gamon would have been raised in a loving family. That is until her parents one night disappeared during a full moon and never came back (they were captured by Hama and tortured to death but the little shred of humanity left in Hama caused Hama to leave the baby alone despite wanting to spite Gamon’s pleading parents). So Gamon was given to her next of kin, who were mid tier nobles.
 
It turned out that Gamon’s mother was once a noble, but renounced it so she could join the Fire Nation Army due to her special interest being the military alongside firebending. This had caused Gamon’s maternal grandparents and Gamon’s Uncle great shame and had also caused them to disown Gamon’s mother. And the sad thing was that despite Gamon’s mother wanting to reconcile, her parents died just after she got pregnant.

So when Gamon’s Uncle and Aunt got a hold of her, they promised that they would raise her into the proper noblewomen Gamon’s mother should have been.

And they were very harsh in doing so, making sure Gamon took to heart what her tutors told her what was necessary to do to be the perfect noblewomen. However, lightning struck twice, and Gamon developed a special interest in both firebending and military history, which she hid from her Uncle and Aunt by practicing firebending in the morning before either of them woke up and reading military history at night after they had gone to bed.

Gamon managed to hide it until she was 15 years old, where, after being suspicious of Gamon knowing an obscure military battle that took place during the start of Azulon’s reign while also giving pointers to a boy she was courting, they had one of the maids spy on her and report to them.

This, combined with Gamon’s symptoms such as her stimming (she likes to rub her knuckles because she likes how they feel) plus her social awkwardness (no matter how hard they drilled her, Gamon always floundered in noble get togethers), made her guardians give up her.

And not wanting a repeat of what happened to Gamon’s mother and the resulting loss of face, they had her involuntarily committed to the asylum and washed their hands of her.

Chapter Text

Zirin

Zirin was born as the only daughter to low level nobles who lived on the outskirts of Caldera City in the year 82 A.G. and was expected to be the perfect nobleman’s daughter: affable, silent, and always willing to do as her parents, and later husband, would ask of her.

But she was anything other than perfect, for she constantly got into arguments with her parents, tutors, and the kids her parents arranged playdates for.

And it wasn’t like Zirin wanted to be disagreeable, but she couldn’t help herself no matter how hard her parents or tutors reprimanded her.

Her parents thought her behavior would get better as she got older and grew out of her “childish” behavior, but instead it got worse for she got even more standoffish as she got older. And when her parents tried introducing her to boys to marry, she often engaged in spiteful behavior against them, often engaging in cruel pranks.

Zirin didn’t like that she was causing so many problems, but she was so filled with anger, anger that she had to take out on others despite her wishing otherwise. And it wasn’t like her parents didn’t try to correct her behavior. 

No, her parents tried everything from mediation to gardening classes to firebending training, but only firebending training helped at all. 

And this was because firebending training was the only thing that ever helped Zirin with her anger issues. 

In fact, her internal rage combined with her love of the one thing that allowed her release enabled her to become a firebending master by the time she was sixteen years old, though that was also the age when everything went wrong. 

And this was because she had lightly burned a highly sought out suitor for getting under her skin, causing her reputation to sink in the eyes of nobility for she quickly got labeled, “the angry bitch.”

And despite their best efforts to restore her reputation, it was shot, leaving her parents with an unmarriable daughter. 

Thus, Zirin, understanding that her parents were at their wits end with her, offered to join the military to make herself useful. 

But her parents, who were staunch traditionalists, didn’t believe that war was the proper place for a noblewoman. And so they involuntarily sent her to the asylum so she could get past the issues that prevented her from being the perfect daughter they knew she could be, making it clear to the orderlies that took her in a straightjacket that she was not to be a part of the weaponization program and that they paid good money for Zirin to be exempt.

However, as Zirin quickly learned, the only goal of the institution was to weaponize inmates so they could be used as fodder for the war effort, regardless of the wishes of ill-advised, but well meaning, parents.

And while Zirin tried writing to her parents to let them know of her situation, after she had sent the tenth letter with no response, she stopped trying. 

For either the asylum was reading the inmates' letters and intercepting them or her parents got the letters, but never came to visit since the Zirin’s letters where obviously the ramblings of a mad woman upset she was stuck in an asylum, signaling to Zirin that her parents had given up on her or didn’t care since if they hadn’t given up on her or did care about her, they would have visited her already with or without any letters prompting them to do so.

Beam

Beam was born in 84 A.G. and had issues withdrawing into her own fantasy world, especially whenever there were large crowds of people. Thus, she had a habit of wearing masks based on the dark spirits such as the dark water spirit in an effort to repel people from her. 

In fact, Beam’s distinctive hairstyle was also an attempt to push people away.

Beam’s maladaptive behavior had caused her upstart noble parents and brothers much grief, for Beam had inherited her mother’s beauty, and thus they thought they would be able to strategically marry her off in order to increase their standing.

Beam’s family tried everything, including fire bending training, which she had a natural gift in as far as Zirin could tell from the times they had sparred. But, due to her performance issues, whenever her brothers and/or parents came to watch, she always messed up her routines, leading them to cancel Beam’s lessons when she was sixteen in order to focus on making Beam marriable. 

This had caused Beam to despair and suffer from a severe withdrawal period in which she wholeheartedly believed she was the dark water spirit and almost killed her older brother, who was “obviously” the Dragon Emperor. 

Said brother also happened to be the one who suggested her parents cancel the firebending lessons and make Beam a proper woman since he was going to get married soon and didn’t want his fiance’s family to revoke the marriage contract once they better got to know his “weirdo” of a sister.

And it was this above incident that was the last straw for Beam’s parents, who had her involuntarily committed after coming to the “conclusion” that nothing would fix their “mad” daughter, not even caring if she was to become fresh meat for the Fire Nation’s armies.

Aiko

Aiko was born in 87 A.G. and was the the unexpected last daughter of a merchant and a very low level noblewomen. Despite seemingly living a charmed life, Aiko was always sad no matter what her parents, or her beloved older twin brothers tried doing.

Though, it appeared that Aiko’s mother had a hard time even spending any time with Aiko. And this deeply affected Aiko since her mother happily gave her love and time to her oldest two kids, who just happened to be two healthy sized boys who were going to do their family and nation proud by joining the war effort once they were of age. 

Meanwhile, Aiko was a diminutive girl who had almost killed her own mother during her birth.

That and she was relentlessly bullied in school for her demure size; one day she tried standing up for herself by getting into an impromptu fight with her main bully, but she accidentally badly burned said bully due to being actually quite skilled in firebending. And while Aiko managed to avoid jail or getting into trouble, the guilt of almost killing someone made Aiko withdraw further into herself much to her family’s grief.

In fact, her brothers were the main positive thing in her life, for they were understanding of her and didn’t really push her that hard...except in firebending where they were the only people she felt safe enough to use her true abilities after the incident.

However, things took a turn for the worse when her brothers finally joined the army, the 41st Division in fact, and died in what was ultimately a pointless diversionary maneuver. And in her grief, Aiko tried hanging herself though the noose broke just before it went taunt and she ended up knocking herself out, only to wake up in the asylum.

Chyou

Chyou, who was the same age as Beam, was the adopted child of two low tier Hu Xin Provinces nobles who ran a shop repairing broken war machines and who were unable to have kids of their own. 

Her parents tried their best with Chyou, but she was a very difficult child to raise, for, in their perspective, one moment Chyou was a hyper energetic girl who was all too willing to do anything to achieve her long-term goals and whims. 

Goals that included being the best firebender in her school and whims that included a desire to shave half her head. Though that particular fulfilled whim didn’t really harm Chyou for she liked the hairstyle and kept it much to her parents’ dismay. 

But in other moments, Chyrou was a heavily depressed girl, who couldn’t even be bothered to get out of her bed no matter how hard her parents tried to encourage or threaten her. 

However, as Chyou made sure to explain, her “mood swings” were just subtle enough that with her parents covering for her, Chyou could pass as a normal kid. 

That is until one night, she overheard a conversation between her parents talking about how much Chyou looked like her mother’s sister. 

Confused since she thought she had no blood relations with either of her parents (they told her she was adopted from a young age since Chyou doesn’t share that much in common with either of her parents), she confronted them and they ended up telling Chyou her true origin.

Chyou was in fact the love baby of an Earth Kingdom soldier and a Fire Nation noblewomen who was Chyou’s “mother’s” sister. And while the Fire Nation was progressive in terms of gender roles, it was against the law at the time for Fire Nation noblewomen to copulate with the males of the other nations. 

For, if Chyou remembered her history lessons correctly, Sozin’s reasoning was that the strong men of the Fire Nation could civilize the demure women of the other nations with their seed while the barbarians’ uncivilized blood could easily overwhelm the wombs of Fire Nation women, and thus the women themselves. And Fire Nation Women wombs were needed to make sure their great nation would never lack loyal citizens. 

But in reality, as Gamon and Azula explained to the rest of the group, due to the patriarchal nature of inheritance and property ownership, Sozin feared the uncivilized males of the other nations, before they could be civilized by the Fire Nation, would marry into Fire Nation nobility and overthrow him once their numbers reached critical mass, making the war all for nought and leaving their great nation in control of dirtfoots and snow savages who would surely run their nation to the ground within a few short years, if not months.

But getting back on track, it was discovered that not only was Chyou’s real mother having the baby of an Earth Kingdom soldier, she was also going to elope with him as well. 

So the Fire Nation tried to capture the soldier and kill him, but he ran off. However, after allowing Chyou’s biological mother to give birth, the Fire Nation tried to kill Chyou after hanging Chyou’s biological mother. But, Chyou’s aunt and uncle took pity on Chyou and successfully begged the authorities to let them raise Chyou as their own kid.

Chyou’s aunt and uncle begged for Chyou’s forgiveness and she gave it to them...though she later had an episode of exuberance that caused her to sneak out of her aunt and uncle's house to search for her father, hoping she would get to meet him.

It took several weeks, and all of the tracking and survival skills she learned in school, but she found the last place her father inhabited. But when she knocked on the door, her biological grandmother opened the door and, once Chyou explained who she was, told the “lying ashmaker to get away from me and never come back unless you want to die” in addition to telling Chyou that her father died during General Iroh’s march to Ba Sing Se. 

For, in retrospect, Chyou’s biological grandma probably never knew about her son’s relationship with Chyou’s mother, let alone that he was going to have a child with her, and thus thought Chyou was punking her. 

Not that it would have made a difference, for after she couldn’t even bury her son due to him being completely burned to ashes, she developed an intractable hatred towards the Fire Nation, and especially firebenders, as she told Chyou in between her sobs. And that hatred wouldn’t dissipate even if her own granddaughter was one of those “ashmakers.”

Heartbroken at the rejection, Chyou then fell into a serious depressive state and was going to kill herself until she was apprehended by a dark haired bounty hunter and her shirshu and returned to her family, who she know knew was June the Bounty Hunter thanks to Azula’s lessons.

And it turned out that the hunter had been paid by Chyou’s parents to find her before the colonial authorities did. For if the “mixed breed” had been found “going back” to her Earth Kingdom family, Chyou would have been killed for her “genetic disloyalty” caused by her parentage.

And when Chyou kept uncontrollably talking about her failed trip, Chyrou’s parents made a hard decision and had her temporarily involuntarily committed since they would rather have her suffer at the asylum (as well as get help for her myriad of issues) than have her ramblings expose her “genetic disloyalty” and have her brutally executed, making all their efforts to protect her pointless. And they paid good money to make sure that Chyou would never be placed in the weaponization program.

However, as Chyou found out from the pieces of information the bastards who visited her in her iso cell to have their way with her gave her, bigoted political hardliner healers in the asylum saw her history and decided unilaterally that she was a threat to society would could only have a positive impact on society after she had been weaponized. 

And so they manipulated her record to make it seem like she had died due to her illness, leaving Chyou’s aunt and uncle, who were pretty old, heartbroken to the point they died within a couple of months of each other and turning Chyou’s temporary stay into a permanent one.

Ting

Ting was oldest of the people freed by Azula, born in 82 A.G. in Yu Dao as the daughter of a minor colonial Fire Nation noble and a very attractive Earth Kingdom commoner that Ting’s father took a liking to and married against the advice of his main islander family and friends, who became estranged from him for his “transgression.” 

On the surface, Ting supposedly lived a charmed life. But her life was anything but charmed, for she didn’t not inherit her mother’s slim face and body, but had the stout body and face of a typical Earth Kingdomer, meaning that it would be next to impossible to marry her off to another noble family since even in the colonies, there was a preference for Fire Nation traits among the nobility.

And not helping was the fact that just after Ting turned six, she would suffer periodically from hallucinations whenever she messed up in school or in court, often having her speech deteriorate into “incoherent” babbling and often fighting back against a “him” who wasn’t there.

And who was this “him”?

Well, Ting’s “him” was in fact her father, for he was upset that he had basically cast aside his friends and family for a “defective half-breed and a dirtfoot woman who couldn’t provide him a healthy heir". Thus his grief and self-loathing caused Ting’s father to often beat up his wife and daughter. And since Ting’s father was a nobleman, there was no one who they could turn to, not even the authorities. 

But Ting did have one saving grace that also doubled as the reason why she was “tolerated”: Ting was an elite firebender who was nigh unmatched in her age group due to the rage and self-loathing caused by her “madness” and “inherent worthlessness” allowing her to constantly generate large flames.

In fact, Ting was one of the few people in the asylum who kept Zirin on her toes and caused Azula to at least exert herself. 

Therefore, even if Ting was unmarriable, she was likely going to have a good career in the Fire Nation Army.

That is until one night when Ting was sixteen and she witnessed a really bad argument between her drunk parents that ended up with her father breaking her mother’s arm.

Enraged and at her wits end, she fought her father and ended up badly burning him in public as he tried to escape her. The authorities, after a difficult chase and struggle that ended with several of them suffering burns, managed to detain her and then tried to put her on trial. 

Horrified at what she had done, Ting had a prolonged hallucination where her father was berating her for acting like the dirtfoot animal he always knew she was and that after he was done beating her to death, he would do the same to her mother for birthing such a monster. 

And as Ting cowered in her cell, begging “him” to spare him and her mother, the authorities told Ting’s parents that she was likely insane, and therefore was not likely to be found culpable for the actions that seemed to be driven by her madness.

For Ting’s father had a relatively good public image, notwithstanding his family planning choices, and therefore it never crossed the authorities’ minds that Ting was crying out for help instead of raving.

So sensing an opportunity to save face and not have his dirty laundry aired, Ting’s father authorized the colonial authorities to ship Ting to a homeland mental asylum for “treatment” damn well knowing Ting would most likely be sent off to the war and likely die. And he had authorized Ting’s involuntary committal at the dead of night so Ting’s mother could not disapprove, as Ting painfully related in between her sobs.

Gamon

Gamon was born in 83 A.G. to two former soldiers living in a rural village. That is until her parents disappeared during a full moon and never came back, causing Gamon to be given to her next of kin, her aunt and uncle, who were mid-tier nobles. 

For, as Gamon learned during her last conversation with her aunt and uncle, it turned out that Gamon’s mother was once a noble, but renounced her birthright so she could join the Fire Nation Army due to having a fixation on the military alongside firebending. 

This had caused Gamon’s maternal grandparents and Gamon’s uncle great shame and had also caused them to disown Gamon’s mother. 

And the sad thing was that despite Gamon’s mother wanting to reconcile, her parents died just after she got pregnant. So when Gamon’s uncle and aunt got a hold of her, they promised that they would raise her into the proper noblewomen Gamon’s mother should have been.

And they were very harsh in doing so, making sure Gamon took to heart what her tutors told her what was necessary to do to be the perfect noblewomen. However, lightning struck twice, and Gamon developed a fixation in both firebending and military history, which she hid from her uncle and aunt by practicing firebending in the morning before either of them woke up and reading military history at night after they had gone to bed.

And while it was hard and tiring to do so, Gamon managed to hide her interests until she was fifteen years old, where, after being suspicious of Gamon knowing an obscure military battle that took place during the start of Azulon’s reign while also giving firebending pointers to a boy she was courting, her aunt and uncle had one of their servants spy on her and report to them.

This, combined with Gamon’s odd behavior, like rubbing her knuckles whenever she felt stressed because she liked how they feel, plus her social awkwardness (no matter how hard her aunt and uncle drilled her, Gamon always floundered in noble get togethers), made her guardians give up on her as far as Gamon could tell.

And not wanting a repeat of what happened to Gamon’s mother and the resulting loss of face, they had her involuntarily committed to the asylum and washed their hands of her. For if she wanted to die for their nation, at least Gamon would do it without tarnishing their family’s reputation like her mother before.

Chapter Text

Yes, I know my title is highly confusing, for why would one make the distinction between Zuko and Firelord Zuko, let alone say that Zuko should not help Azula while Firelord Zuko is obligated to do so?

For there is no separating Zuko from his title, and so is it not impossible for Zuko to simultaneously not help Azula while also upholding his obligation to help her?

However, my title is not meant to be taken literally, but instead is meant to be a framing tool for how I hope Zuko (in-universe) and the writers (out-of-universe) deal with the ongoing issue of Azula delusionally thinking it is her true destiny to turn Zuko into Ozai 2.0.

For in regards to the first part of my title, “Zuko Should Not Help Azula”, besides the fact that it is not the job of the abused to help their abusers get better, Zuko is no shape to help Azula considering he blames her from making his life hard from the moment she was born, like it wasn't Azulon and Ozai's faults.

“But shouldn’t Zuko do it because it is the right thing to do? Especially since it would be a good way for Zuko to pay it forward in regards to the help he got from Iroh to escape Ozai’s abuse and the indoctrination he was subjected to as a kid?"

“But what about me, I forgave my abusers, and if I saw they needed help today, I would help them?”

Well, my response to these arguments is that the difference between you and Zuko is that you have had the time to reflect on your abuse before willingly forgiving them and deciding that you want to help them because it is the right thing to do. Whereas Zuko clearly hasn't given himself the necessary time to heal and reflect, and therefore is only trying to "help" Azula due to political considerations*.

(*Zuko realized during the beginning of The Search that the sorry state of his nuclear family reflects badly on him and the message is trying to send to his subjects, and thus tried to “fix” it.)

Like how is a man that still hasn't gotten over his abusive father and is struggling to find his footing as a leader supposed to give guidance to his equally troubled, if not more, younger sister?

That is why, in my opinion, Zuko helping Azula would at best just be a case of the blind leading the blind, and at worst would end with a lot of casualties and/or both of them seriously hurt or dead. Especially considering Azula thinks it is her destiny to turn Zuko into Ozai 2.0 and is the second strongest person in the world behind Aang as of current canon.

“But Zuko’s redemption arc would be incomplete if he didn’t help his foil/the person who represented everything he once wanted.” 

“Zuko helping his sister would not only bring his redemption arc full circle, but also show that he is a better man than Iroh by not only breaking the cycle of sibling hatred, but also helping the one person who Iroh himself never saw worthy of being saved in the first place.”

Well, my response to these types of arguments is that I don't think Zuko's redemption arc would be incomplete if he didn't help Azula since I don’t think Zuko becoming a good person is contingent on him being a “good” brother to a sibling that has repeatedly hurt him. Especially if being a “good” brother requires Zuko to extend the metaphorical olive branch instead of Azula.

For was it not one of the main messages of the TV show that just because someone is family does not mean that you are obligated to stick by them, especially when all they do hurt you?

However, and this is getting to the second part of my title, “Firelord Zuko Is Obligated to Help Azula”, I do think Zuko’s arc as Fire Lord would fall flat if he never found about the abusive nature of the asylums and never got Azula proper help.

And this is because Zuko is the absolute monarch of the Fire Nation, and therefore is responsible for the well-being of all his subjects, including Azula. Especially since the asylums are terrorist breeding grounds, for apparently all the Fire Warriors came from mental institutions, and not just Zirin and Azula.

Not to mention he was Azula's legal guardian/jailer, and not only selfishly agreed to Azula's terms in regard to the search for Ursa so he could more easily/quickly find his beloved mother, but also failed to give chase when Azula ran into the Forgetful Valley even though she was in the middle of a psychotic episode.

And before anyone says that I am contradicting my earlier assertion that it is wrong to ask the abused to help their abuser, there are also political reasons for my line of thought. 

For imagine the political fallout if the Fire Warriors do something irredeemable and their origin story becomes public knowledge?

Like why would the average Fire Nation citizen have any reason to believe that Zuko would be able, or willing, to look out for their best interests? Especially after he caused the Fire Nation to lose the war, forced them to pay reparations, didn't stick up for the colonists in the oldest colonies until he almost lost his head, and almost had a civil war occur under his nose if not for the Fire Warriors hijacking the New Ozai Society for their own purposes?

Because from the Fire Nation’s POV, he selfishly let Azula go on the search for Ursa unbound and with “dignity”, lost custody of her, and, after Azula managed to break several girls out of asylums for her terrorist cell without anyone finding out, failed to capture her due to his own weakness and incompetence. 

And so why should his people not hate a foolhardy, selfish leader who can not protect his own subjects, or exercise any control over the asylum system? Especially when the Fire Warriors, in their reckless desire to turn Zuko into Ozai 2.0, are liable to do something truly irreversibly evil?

“But why are you essentially saying that Zuko should help Azula due to political considerations? Don’t you know that Aaron Ehasz fully intended Azula to be redeemed by Zuko acting as her Uncle Iroh?”

Well, besides the fact that Aaron Ehasz is busy on The Dragon Prince and will likely be unable to write the conclusion to Azula’s arc in a future Avatar Studios work, I think Ehasz’s idea falls into the same pitfalls of the abused helping their abuser and the blind leading the blind when it comes emotional maturity.

And all l am saying is that while Zuko has no whatsoever obligation to help Azula, Fire Lord Zuko does have an obligation to help the Fire Warriors. But if he, after he heals and has time to reflect, wants to help Azula because it is the right thing and/or because she is his sister, that is fine.

Because what happens in the comics, where Zuko during the climax of The Search essentially says he wants to help Azula because she is his sister, but in reality is still too damaged, and lacks the wisdom, to actually help Azula, does no one any favors. In fact, it makes Zuko look dangerously naive, ineffectual, and incompetent as hell. 

For example, do you think Iroh would have been effective in helping Zuko if he hadn't completed his redemption arc and healed, for the most part, from Azulon's abuse?

(Yes, being raised to be a callous, genocidal warlord is abusive parenting, full stop.)

“But wasn’t Iroh naive towards Zuko, not to mention that he gave Zuko a million chances after Zuko had figuratively burned him to the point that most people would have disavowed themselves of Zuko? So why shouldn’t Zuko repay it forward?”

Iroh was a middle aged man who knew what he was getting into when he decided to join Zuko during his banishment and attempted to take him under his wing, and even then, Iroh did give up on Zuko several times.

For did Iroh not shun Zuko during the pre-DoBS portion of S3 before he consciously decided to start helping the obviously troubled Zuko again by urging him to educate himself on his great-grandfathers?

And did Iroh not break out of Fire Nation prison system without saying good-bye to Zuko, presumably because he assumed that Zuko was still under Ozai’s thrall, before reconciling with Zuko only after Zuko apologized to him and he had learned of Zuko’s defection to the Avatar?

Not to mention, Iroh admitted to Zhao, in addition to outright telling Zuko in the Legacy of the Fire Nation scrapbook, that he saw Zuko not only as a surrogate son, but also as a chance to make up for not guiding Ozai down a better path. Motivations that Zuko, for obvious reasons, does not have in regards to Azula.

Also, another key difference is that Zuko was never really a threat to Iroh while Azula is a massive threat to not only Zuko, but also the post-war order that Zuko is supposed to protect.

For Iroh during the events of ATLA the show could always easily defeat Zuko in a fight, in addition to the fact that, even at Zuko’s worse, Zuko never actively sought Iroh’s death.

Not to mention, Zuko alone could not change the tide of the war. 

For while Zuko defecting to the Gaang and telling them of Ozai’s plan to burn the Earth Kingdom, as well as teaching Aang firebending and lightning redirection, was critical to their victory, it took the combined efforts of the Gaang to win the war, and anything less would have resulted in either in their deaths or a way more rougher transition to peacetime.

And while Zuko joining Azula’s coup did help her put a lightning bolt in Aang’s back, Azula did not need Zuko’s help to complete her coup. For she could have let Aang and Katara go and then hunt them down later on after consolidating control of Ba Sing Se, or stalled the duo long enough for the Dai Li reinforcements to help her arrest them like what happened in canon.

Though I admit stalling for reinforcements would have been a lot harder for Azula without Zuko’s help.

Meanwhile, not only did Azula attempt to kill Zuko several times during the events of the TV show, but also almost killed several of Zuko’s loved ones numerous times on top of stalemating the Gaang at several points and achieving the coup of Ba Sing Se with just three people on her side. 

And things get even worse in the comics, for not did Azula repeated try to kill Zuko and friends during the events of The Search, but also formed a child-kidnapping terrorist cell out of asylum inmates that she broke out that not only successful manipulated a reactionary, pro-Ozai group, but also would have succeeded in killing most of the extended Gaang en route to restarting the Hundred Year War if not for the fact that she needs Zuko alive and (relatively) mentally stable so he can be her puppet ruler.

Or in other words, at worst, Iroh’s naivety towards Zuko ended up with him in prison and Ba Sing Se colonized with only one casualty. Meanwhile, Zuko showing naivety towards Azula, especially after the events of the comics, is liable to not only end with him, his friends, and family all dead, but also cause the world to suffer the pains of war once again.

So to sum up considering I have rambled on long enough, Zuko doesn't have any obligation to help his sister Azula. But, Fire Lord Zuko does have an obligation to make sure that his subject, Azula, does get proper medical treatment since she is his responsibility, as well as due to the potential political fallout if he doesn't.

And that I think this the best writing path to take since anything else will make Zuko look incompetent as hell, reduce Azula and the Fire Warriors to “uwu soft babies” who did nothing wrong but be abused, perpetuate harmful stereotypes about the mentally ill (ex. the mentally ill are for the most part dangerously violent, or that they deserved to be abused), or some combination of these outcomes that are ableist and/or reduce the complexity and competence of beloved characters.

Chapter Text

One of the fiercest debates in Avatar fandom is whether or not to take Iroh’s words and actions towards Azula as proof of Azula irredeemability. 

For those who think that Azula is irredeemable point to stuff like, “She’s crazy and needs to go down,” or the fact that there was never any indication that he ever tried to reason with her, even when he tried reasoning with war criminals (the Rough Rhinos), someone who was literally going destroy a fundamental aspect of reality (Zhao), and someone who was attempting to rob him at knifepoint (Tycho), as proof that he knew that Azula was fundamentally broken, or that, after he returned from his wandering to the palace, he realized that Azula was too firmly indoctrinated for him, or anyone other than Azula herself, to save.

Meanwhile, those who think that Azula is redeemable point out that Iroh said, She’s crazy and needs to go down,” only after she had repeatedly tried to hunt him and Zuko down so she could bring them back to the Fire Nation for their treason, had attempted to kill Zuko with lightning, and had almost killed him with blue fire. Not to mention, Iroh had to dissuade Zuko from trying to show Azula compassion because, as long as she and Ozai where in power, there was no way they could convince her to change her path, and so to show her compassion, or attempt to reason with her, would end with him, Zuko, or the both of them dead or in chains.

And in regards to the comics, where he never visits her in the asylum to try and steer her down a better path now that she lost everything, including her power, and thus would be receptive to his teachings? Well, if Iroh was willing to retire to Ba Sing Se and leave the arduous task of reforming the Fire Nation after a hundred years of war and propaganda to his unprepared nephew, who he sees as a surrogate son, why would Iroh be inclined to try and help steer Azula down a better path? 

Especially when, as far as he knows, Azula is getting top-notch medical treatment for her mental illness(es)?

Not to mention, when Zuko was facing push back to take Azula on the search for Ursa, Iroh voiced his support for taking her, pointing out that it might help Azula find inner peace.

And besides, regardless of the above points, those who think Azula is redeemable point out that it would be highly hypocritical for Iroh deny the possibility of Azula reforming when it took Iroh suffering one of the harsh losses imaginable, the lost of a child, in combination with the White Lotus, who are made up of people victimized by Iroh’s actions, or inaction, as Crown Prince and as a general of the Fire Nation, for him to reform and redeem himself well into middle age.

Well, in my opinion, this debate is a moot one because the foundational assumption for both sides, that Iroh actually cared for Azula, at least at some point, is not actually true.

For the Legacy of the Fire Nation, which in-universe is a scrapbook Iroh wrote to share memories and mementos with Zuko, reveals that Iroh never gave up on Azula because he never gave her a chance in the first place, first, due to seeing her as an obstacle to Zuko getting Ozai's favor, and then, after his own redemption arc, an obstacle to Zuko becoming the savior of the Fire Nation that Iroh knew he could become.

In fact, he shows more sympathy and regret in regards to Ozai despite Ozai having decades to change his path as well as being Zuko, Ursa, and Azula's primary abuser.

And Iroh continues to have such negative views about Azula despite the fact that he begrudgingly admits that it took him decades to change his ways, that he only changed after his own son died despite killing countless Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom sons through his warmongering, and that he engaged in imperialism for the same reasons that Azula did: to make his father proud and because he thought it was his destiny.

And to make things worse, the TTRPG, which was created in collaboration with Avatar Studios, reveals that Iroh learned lightning redirection before Lu Ten’s death. So even if Azula was under Ozai's thrall, he could have stopped her abuse, as well as Zuko's in addition to ending the war sooner, by challenging Ozai to Agni Kai after returning from his wandering and killing him by baiting Ozai into shooting lightning and then redirecting it.

“But what about Iroh voicing support for Azula to go on the search for Ursa? That at least proves that Iroh has some care for Azula, right?”

Iroh’s support for Azula going on the search for Ursa could easily be explained by Iroh not wanting to go against the wishes of his beloved nephew, especially since he knows that Azula is the only one with relevant information in regards to Ursa’s location due to Azula burning all the letters in Ozai’s secret trunk save for the “Zuko is a bastard” letter, as well as him knowing that him vocalizing his true thoughts on Azula would make him look unwise and/or cause friction to arise between him and Zuko.

And besides, it is not like Iroh has ever lied to Zuko or others about his true opinions and allegiances before, especially when he, rightfully or wrongfully, thinks it is in everyone’s best interests for him to hide them, right?

“Why do you think that Iroh had a responsibility to challenge Ozai to an Agni Kai and kill him? For don’t you remember that Iroh said, in regards to Zuko asking him to fight Ozai during Sozin’s Comet, that he would not fight Ozai for the throne since history would just see it as two brothers trying to kill each other for power, and so it had to be the Avatar who defeated Ozai?"

My response to that argument is the famous phrase, “The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing.”

If Iroh already had his heel-face turn and realized that the war was immoral, wouldn’t the morally righteous thing for him to do is end the war as soon as possible? Especially since he was the person best equipped to stop it considering, unlike the audience, no one in-universe knows when, if ever, the Avatar would return?

Besides, why should we care for Iroh’s opinion in regards to the ramifications of him fighting Ozai for the throne when he, after telling Zuko that he could not fight his own brother to death since history would view it negatively, in the same breath told Zuko to essentially fight his own sister to death for the throne?

So to conclude, why should people care about Iroh's opinion about Azula's (ir)redeemability? Especially when, if people applied his standards to him and Zuko, neither of them would have been able to redeem themselves?

Chapter Text

In the earlier parts of this series I explained why Azula staying a villain will only have bad effects on stories set in Aang’s era, the characters involved in such stories, and the messages such stories are trying to send to the audience. But I haven’t yet talked about why Azula staying a villain is bad for Azula’s character herself, and so I will do so here.

But before I do so, I have to make it clear that I will analyze Azula’s character through both of fandom’s most popular interpretations of Azula’s character, and so I will elaborate on what they are before starting my analysis.

The Psychopath

The Psychopath is how the majority of ATLA’s fandom views Azula (I will refer to this Azula as The Psycho from here on out), who is both meant to be a cautionary tale of how those born with severe, incurable ASPD/dark triad traits are not meant to be given any quarter, and how no amount of love or care will be able to make them fit for society, let alone a functional person. 

Under this lens, The Psycho, unlike Zuko or Iroh, inherited Ozai, Azulon, and/or Sozin’s mental illness(es) and only lives for power and to subjugate others. She is only capable of understanding hierarchical relationships based on power, hence her predatorily targeting the psychologically vulnerable Ty Lee and Mai to be her slaves friends on top of her relentless tormenting of Zuko, whose death, along with Iroh, Azulon, and Lu Ten’s, she craves so Ozai, who she only “loves” because of his power, can get the throne and make her his heir. 

The Psycho deeply resents Ursa, not because Ursa was neglectful to her, but because she hated Ursa for how she constantly reprimanded her antisocial behavior on top of not being able to comprehend Ursa’s non-psychopathic morality, or why she was drawn Zuko displaying values in line with her’s. And when Azula hallucinates Ursa saying she loves Azula, it is not because Azula desperately wanted her mother’s love, or that Ursa didn't love her, but instead Azula raging at the first person who saw through and rejected her manipulative ways.

When the psychopath allowed Zuko to “redeem” himself during The Crossroads of Destiny, it wasn’t because she actually meant it. No, it was because she needed someone to not only take down Aang and Katara, but also take down Iroh before she would have betrayed him on the spot and thrown him into a cell next to Iroh. 

But alas, Katara managed to escape with Aang’s dead body before she could double-tap, and therefore had to bring Zuko home while giving him the credit so that in the case of Aang surviving, Ozai will do what she thinks he should have done a long time ago and kill Zuko off, leaving her the sole heir. Or if Aang really did die, Zuko’s paranoia will eat him alive and allow Azula to easily be named her father’s heir since she is the stable one in comparison.

When she comforts Zuko and Ty Lee, or shows concern about them, during The Beach, it is not because she cares about them. No, it is because she realizes that for her plans to work, she needs both of them to stay by her side as her complaint and willing tools, and so manipulates them by feigning empathy.

When Mai and Ty Lee “betray” her and start her downward spiral, the “guilt” she feels is not her feeling remorse for her actions and behavior towards them, but instead a narcissistic injury, which is only worsened once she sees Zuko stand victorious and guaranteed the throne while she is chained to the ground and denied everything she has been working towards her whole life.

The Princess

This interpretation of Azula (who I will from here on out refer to as The Princess) is the minority opinion held by those who are Azula sympathizers, or at least those who don’t want to make Azula born evil or evil for evil’s sake considering that it would go against the ethos of the show.

The Princess is meant to be a tragic tale of how: being a golden child is not a good thing and is in fact a form of abuse; how royalty, especially the genocidal, imperialist, colonizing royalty that Azula was born into, is an inherently abusive institution that creates abusers while victimizing the royals themselves; and how grooming someone to be a child general only has negative effects on the one being groomed.

For under this lens, The Princess’ deepest desire was to do right by her family and friends while also receiving their affection. Not to mention being the exemplary post-Sozin Princess. 

But unfortunately for The Princess, she was born the second child to Prince Ozai, who, from the very moment he saw she had the “spark”, sought to turn her into the son he never had in an effort to claim the Fire Nation throne to sate his desire for power, with the first thing he bestowed upon her, her name, being an ominous omen of what was to come.

For while Azula did have a good relationship with her brother and mother, in addition to making two friends from school in the form of Mai and Ty Lee, things quickly soured once Azula’s firebending kicked in and it was apparent that she was a prodigy, causing Ozai to focus his attention on making Azula the son he should have had in an effort to make a credible bid for the throne in the future, despite the fact that his father would never favor him, a lowly palace creature, over his war hero first born son Iroh, or his war hero grandchild Lu Ten.

Thus, Azula slowly but surely became more cruel, adopting the viewpoints and aggressive/sadistic behavior that her father egged her to adopt. And while Ozai’s corruption of her could have been stopped and/or counteracted by one of the adults in her life noticing Ozai’s favor for what it was, unfortunately none of the adults in her life did so.

For Iroh and Lu Ten were off at war and, as evidenced by Iroh’s gift to Azula (anyone who interacted with Azula for more than a minute would know that Azula is not a doll type of girl), really didn’t know her that well, in addition to Iroh most likely favoring Zuko (ex. knife from a defeated general with a worthwhile message vs. a generic doll) due to the fact that, while he knew how boys worked, he most likely didn’t know how to interact with girls considering Azula was the first girl born to the Royal Family in generations.

Azulon, as evidenced by his reactions to Azula and Zuko’s performances and him ordering to kill Zuko after Ozai made an ill-advised claim to the throne, really does not care for the children produced by his second born son, even though they make up the majority of his second generation heirs.

And Ursa, while scolding Azula’s negative behavior and encouraging Azula’s prosocial behavior, like pushing Zuko to play with Azula when Azula asks if Zuko could play with her and her friends, fails to get at the root of why Azula says horrible things like wishing that her Uncle and cousin would die so Ozai could get the throne. 

While the TV show makes it unclear why Ursa treats Azula the way she does, the comics heavily imply that a mix of Ozai threatening to hurt her if she corrected his prodigy and Ursa seeing Azula as the successful byproduct of the eugenics experiment that caused Azulon to kidnap her and have Ozai rape her, causes Ursa to inadvertently neglect Azula in an effort to avoid triggering herself as much as possible.

But even with all that, at least with Azulon on the throne, Iroh as the Crown Prince with Lu Ten as his heir, and Ursa around, at least Azula still had a childhood where she got to play games with her friends and Zuko.

But after the chain reaction that started with Lu Ten’s unexpected death and ended with Ozai on the throne, Ursa banished, and Iroh discredited in the eyes of their nation, Azula's childhood was nothing more than a memory.

For Azula within a span of two years not only starts wearing makeup in a likely attempt to make herself look older in court, but also has blue flames (Iroh and Zuko when they see the 14 year old Azula don’t act shocked by Azula’s flames, heavily implying Azula had them before Zuko’s banishment), no doubt due to Ozai, now with no restraints, actively grooming both of his child to become the child generals he needs to win the war. And once Zuko showed that he couldn’t “measure up”, Ozai burned him in an Agni Kai before sending him on a wild goose chase with the intention of never bringing him back home.

And speaking of Agni Kai’s, under this lens, when The Princess smirks as she sees her brother burn, it is due to some combination of: being glad that it is not her; thinking that it is expected of her to overtly relish sadistic acts since that is what is expected of post-Sozin nobility; thinking that Zuko is finally getting what he deserves now that no one can “coddle” him; and thinking that Zuko deserves it for being tied to their mother’s disappearance (there is no way Azula by that age didn’t realize the connection between her telling Ursa of Azulon’s order and Ursa’s disappearance).

But after Zuko and Iroh leave, things get much worse for The Princess since she realizes that without Daddy’s favorite scapegoat, all his attention is on her, knowing damn well what happens to children that fail to meet his obscene standards.

This, in combination with her friends moving away, causes Azula to spend three years basically studying, training, or in court, with her already limited social skills becoming even more stunted due to her only interactions coming from palace servants who are meant to be seen, not heard, old men in court/her father’s war council, Lo and Li, and her father.

Thus, by the time Ozai gives her mission to bring back Iroh and Zuko dead or alive, she may be a master firebender and military strategist/tactician, but she is an emotional and socially stunted human being incapable of forming real bonds despite her desire to do so, let alone navigate the impossible situation of trying to be a friend while also being a military commander/their absolute sovereign.

For after Zuko and Iroh escape her at the beach, causing Azula to realize that she needs a small elite team to hunt them, Azula quickly realizes that Ty Lee and Mai, who have skills that compliment her skills while also being people she trusts, are perfect for the mission.

And while Ty Lee is glad to see Azula, she refuses to join Azula’s mission since she enjoys the circus, forcing Azula to either have to pull rank and destroy their friendship, if there was any friendship in the first place, or accept Ty Lee’s refusal and jeopardize the success of her mission, and even her life considering Ozai’s track record in regards to accepting failure.

Thus, Azula burns Ty Lee’s nets and gets Ty Lee to come as a “friend”, which is fucked up to say the least, but at least it makes logical sense for what someone of Azula’s upbringing would do, instead of being a vicious act done to sate her innate cruelty and sadism.

Likewise, even though Mai willingly and enthusiastically, at least on the surface, joins Azula’s quest, Azula essentially forces Mai to not trade Bumi for Tom Tom, despite Mai’s obvious displeasure (note that the scene where Mai “agrees” with Azula to not trade for Bumi is the only time she ever refers to Azula as Princess Azula), for largely the same reasons why Azula burned Ty Lee’s nets. 

For how do you think Ozai would have reacted if he found out that Azula traded away one of the most dangerous POWs for a toddler?

When The Princess allowed Zuko to "redeem" himself during the Crossroads of Destiny, it wasn’t because she needed his help, or that she was going into the fight with the intention to scapegoat Zuko, but because she found him pitiful being Iroh’s little tea boy and desired him back in her life, even if it meant basically sacrificing the throne.

And that Katara managing to escape with Aang’s body did not change her plans since, as far as Azula is concerned, there is no way someone could survive a fully charged lightning blast with no grounding. That is until their little talk at the pond caused Azula to realize that Zuko lied to her about the possibility of Aang’s survival, thus causing her to lie to Ozai about who “killed” Aang in an attempt to cover her ass, as well as give Zuko a chance to rectify his mistake.

And yes, her lie was partially motivated by giving Zuko a chance to rectify his mistake, for if Azula was just interested in scapegoating Zuko, she could have used his visits to Iroh to show Ozai that he lied to her about Aang’s death. For if Zuko was willing to lie about his covert visits to Iroh, why wouldn’t he lie about Aang’s survival like the “dishonorable” man he was?

When she comforted Zuko and Ty Lee, or showed concern about them, during The Beach, it is because she cares about them and wants nothing more than to spend her vacation with her friends and brother by her side, with them choosing, when given the choice, to spend their vacation time away from her deeply hurting her.

When Mai and Ty Lee “betray” her and start her downward spiral, she feels genuine remorse for her actions and behavior towards them. But unlike Zuko who had Iroh to help him process his emotions, all she had was Ozai and Lo and Li, with the former giving her the now worthless title of Fire Lord to go burn the world by himself when all she wanted was for him to not leave her like everyone else did, and the latter just being subordinates who ultimately had no power over her.

And when she cries once she sees Zuko stand victorious and guaranteed the throne while she is chained to the ground, it is not due to her being denied everything she has been working towards her whole life, but instead due to seeing Zuko have a friend who will unconditionally stand by him while she has no one by her side, despite doing everything that was expected of her by her teachers and father.

Interlude

So now that I have laid out what are the two most popular conceptions of Azula’s character, I will proceed to go through the events of The Search and Smoke and Shadow (which I’ll refer to from here on out as S&S) in order to show why the actions she took in those stories and/or powers she displayed don’t really make sense with either conception of Azula.

The Search (Both)

There isn’t really anything to criticize here since Azula is deeply psychotic during The Search due to not really receiving any treatment in the asylum (WoG all but says the asylum is responsible for comics!Azula’s mental state) and is acting to restore what she considers the righteous regime since, instead of anyone trying to make any effort to help her realize that indoctrination she received was wrong, all the communication she received in the 1 to 2 years she was stuck in the asylum was between her healers and her fellow asylum inmates.

But there is one major point that does need criticism, and that is Azula’s bending and physical prowess.

And this is because, despite being in an abusive asylum for 1 to 2 years where (presumably) she was constantly chi-blocked and restrained, Azula’s physical capabilities seem to remain intact. 

And even more inexplicably, her bending seems to have gotten better since she is now able to make a lightning sphere, make lightning zaps, make her flames stay blue even after she is no longer actively controlling them, use her lightning as a bootleg chidori (as seen when she breaks the roof of Noren and Noriko’s home), and is able to make instant lightning.

And while I don’t think it was impossible for Azula to improve her bending in such a short time or discover new techniques, I hate how her improvements fly in the face of how her abilities, and quite frankly how bending in general, were previously depicted.

For in the TV show, Azula’s abilities were depicted as the combination of natural talent, having the resources of a nation-state help her to hone said talent, having friends with diverse skills willing to help her fill in the gaps in her skills, and being able to/having the incentive to obsessively train to reach her full potential.

But in the comics, they tell us the only thing that Azula has left out of the above elements that led her to being so powerful is her natural talent, and yet they want us to believe that she made massive improvements?

And making things worse is that, other than slightly quicker lightning generation and fire jets, TV!Azula does not really improve and/or add new techniques due to the implication that she has mastered Sozin style firebending, and so she thinks all she has do is steadily improve what she knows while waiting to finish puberty to achieve her full potential.

Meanwhile, part of the reason why Zuko and Katara manage to get to her level, or even surpass her depending on your views, so quickly is due to the combination of meeting the original masters of their bending art and/or being exposed to and implementing the other bending arts into their bending to either improve it or implement countermeasures for when they encounter hostile benders of the other elements.

For example, when Katara fights in the North Pole, part of the reason why she loses to Zuko is because, despite restraining him in a dome of ice, the fact that it is hollow allows Zuko just enough movement and air to melt the whole thing. 

But after spending time with Aang and Zuko and (presumably) learning about the the airbender’s heat regulation ability, Zuko’s breath of fire technique, and how firebenders need both movement and air to use their bending, Katara is able to use said knowledge to defeat Azula during Sozin’s Comet by first freezing the two of them in solid ice, thus not allowing Azula to move or breathe, and then using her breathe to warm ice into water so she can move around in the block of ice so she can restraint Azula.

And yet, despite having no exposure to the other bending elements or to the dragons, Azula is able to come up with several innovations?

(Yes, I know Xu Ping An had instant lightning 400 years ago, but it seems pretty obvious that the technique was lost to time seeing as how neither Ozai nor Iroh could ever do the technique despite both of them being in situations where it would have been useful; hence the assumption that Azula “discovered” instant lightning.)

But despite Azula’s new bending skills and retained physical prowess, it is not like the comics would continue to give Azula new bending abilities, or even increase her physical prowess, despite her becoming a homeless, penniless, fugitive deep in psychosis after she escapes Zuko’s custody during the climax of The Search, right?

S&S (Both)

Well unfortunately for those who want their characters to have power boosts that make sense with previous established lore, Azula’s bending and physical prowess get such a massive boost in S&S to the point that not only does she become the clear cut strongest firebender in history, but also now has a credible argument that she is the strongest non-Avatar, non-bloodbending, non-spirit fused fighter in the entire Avatar franchise.

For in regards to her bending, Azula develops: area of effect lightning, the ability to use quick charge lightning, concussive-effect only lightning, the ability to control and split her lightning after she has fired it, and smokebending.

And in regards to her physical prowess, Azula is able to ward off Suki and Ty Lee, despite wearing a one-eyed mask and a billowing cloak, consistently dodge Mai’s knives even when Mai throws them with lethal intent, and quickly physical overwhelm Zuko, despite Zuko having no indication that she wasn’t fighting to kill him, and thus had no reason to hold back. 

Like I understand that her bending and physical boosts in S&S are at least more plausible than they were in The Search due to her being free and having people to train with, but even then, when you think about it, they still are really unjustified.

For example, Suki and Ty Lee at this point have not only taught each other their skills, in addition to Ty Lee presumably telling Suki Azula’s fighting style, especially after Azula escapes Zuko’s custody, but also have every reason to believe that Azula is going to seek revenge against all that have “wronged” her. 

Moreover, they had at least one year to improve under nearly perfect circumstances since they are the Fire Lord’s bodyguards, and so they mostly likely had access to best training resources and recovery methods that Zuko can provide since he has every incentive to make sure his protection detail is up to par since he is facing constant assassination attempts on his life.

And yet, despite all their advantages combined with the fact that Azula has had subpar at best training circumstances, we are supposed to believe that they can’t even keep her occupied long enough for reinforcements, who at worst like 30 seconds away, to come, or even force her to use her bending to ward them off?

Or in another example, how did Azula and the Fire Warriors learn to smokebend, let alone master it to the degree they seem to have? For while smokebending is a thing (Aang smokebended in the beginning of The Firebending Masters while Kyoshi bended smoke when she tried to firebend for the first time), the Kyoshi novels imply that it is painful to bend smoke.

And the fact that despite its highly useful applications, only the Fire Warriors are seen using it, implies that either the Fire Warriors invented the technique or that it was a lost technique that can only be done by master benders.

But despite all the questions that smokebending brings up, we are never given an in-universe or out-of-universe explanation for how it works, despite it almost leading to Aang getting killed by two unnamed Fire Warriors while Azula uses it to escape Zuko’s clutches despite being in a crypt with only one exit even though Aang and Zuko already had experience with the technique.

And while I could keep on going, the point of bringing up Azula's physical and bending power boosts is to highlight how the comics’ desperation to keep Azula a credible antagonist, even though her situation post-Sozin’s Comet and previous established lore indicated that post-Sozin’s Comet Azula would suffer a massive decrease in her bending and physical prowess due to being involuntary psych warded, caused it give Azula unearned and unjustified power boosts despite her previously being depicted as someone who had to work hard and take advantage of the resources she had access to be the formidable warrior was depicted in the TV show.

And how the only plausible explanation, that Azula is a mutant thanks to being a successful eugenics experiment, not only flies in the face of how her bending progress was previously depicted, but also how bending in general worked before the comics, in addition to giving a pro-eugenics endorsement, which I don’t think was the point.

But even with all the problems in regards to how comics!Azula was able to improve her physicality and bending, at least the comics took advantage of Azula becoming stronger in order to tell compelling stories in line with either popular conception of Azula’s character once she supposedly recovered her sanity in S&S, right?

S&S (The Psycho)

Well, in regards to The Psycho, I don’t think S&S is a favorable depiction of her at all. For while Azula does engage in a lot of violence and plotting that seems similar to her actions in the TV show, when you take a closer look, you find only a superficial similarity at best.

And this is because while the psycho is a sadist, all of her actions while sane were taken with two goals in mind: to secure and/or further her power. 

But despite supposedly regaining her sanity, being able to recruit a loyal team of elite firebenders without Zuko ever finding out, becoming the strongest firebender in history, being able to link up with and convince a pro-Ozai group, the New Ozai Society (NOS), to give her the chains of command, and being able to operate a whole ass conspiracy in the Royal Palace without anyone finding out for at least day, The Psycho decides that the best course of action is not to use the pro-Ozai group to raise a rebellion to restore her and/or her father onto the throne, or to kill everyone who would oppose her return to power.

(Yes, I think the Fire Warriors had the power to outright kill everyone who opposed them considering two of them were able to knock down Aang while Azula was able to easily defeat Zuko in the crypt of the first Fire Lord's royal adviser.)

No, she decides that her “true destiny” is to manipulate the pro-Ozai group to act way sooner than they should have to get all their members, and those would support them, arrested while using their funds to engage in a mass child kidnapping scheme as part of a long term plan to turn Zuko into the dictator of her dreams while wearing a costume inspired by the nightmares of her childhood slave friend that she is responsible for, which makes no sense.

For even if The Psycho might fear that the Fire Nation population would never accept her on the throne, that fear is highly unsupported considering she was the war hero who had essentially ended the war before her brother’s unexpected betrayal caused the Fire Nation’s efforts for the past hundred years to be all for nothing, something that she could use to further endear herself to the still heavily indoctrinated population.

Not to mention, if The Psycho was able to convince a foreign secret police that their best option in the moment was to join her, the enemy princess with only two allies at moment, how hard would it have been for her to convince her subjects to rally around her? Especially since Zuko forced them to vacate their newest colonies, as well as pay reparations, at least to the Southern Water Tribe?

But in the case that The Psycho is unable to rally people around her in order to attempt a traditional counterrevolution, or even outright kill Zuko and his allies, there were still other ways to achieve her goal of securing power.

Ways like leading a guerrilla movement in which they destabilize the Fire Nation to the point that the masses are begging for a strongwoman to replace the weak-willed Zuko, or taking advantage of Zuko and Ursa’s desire to fix their family to come back to the palace and launch a soft coup after manipulating the Royal Court, or even taking advantage of the fact that she and her team of smokebenders had unfettered access to the Palace for at least a day to covertly assassinate Zuko and anyone in the palace who might support him.

But no, The Psycho decided on a plot that not only discredited her among any groups that would seek to put her and/or Ozai back on the throne, but also made her the most wanted terrorist in the Fire Nation, with a good chunk of her real allies, the Fire Warriors, in jail after getting defeated in the Garden of Tranquil Souls. Moreover, Zuko is now aware of Azula’s desire to mold him, and therefore is highly unlikely to be swayed by her attempts to manipulate him, let alone accept her back into his life if she ever decides to try to manipulate him by “turning a new leaf”.

“But Azula is a sadistic psycho who derives pleasure from tormenting others. Hence why she decided to mess with him in S&S since if she can’t have the throne as long as Aang is alive, she might as well fuck with Zuko by doing things like reducing him to begging her to not take his life because no one will stand for her on the throne.”

Well, even if we ignore the fact that her team did knock down Aang for a considerable amount of time, as well as my well founded assumption that the Fire Warriors are strong enough to outright kill Zuko and his allies, there were better ways for Azula to sadistically torment Zuko if that is what she wanted to do. Especially considering from her POV, Zuko had her sadistically locked up in the abusive asylum for over a year before only retrieving her so she could extract intel from Ozai about the location of the mother who she blames from her downfall, with Zuko then “mercifully” offering her the option of returning the palace, provided that she is kept under constant surveillance 24/7, as a reward for doing his bidding.

Like killing and/or maiming the kidnapped kids one by one, or killing Kiyi in front of him instead of kidnapping her, or either killing or scarring Ty Lee instead of just slapping her, or either killing or scarring Mai instead of just toying with her, or even giving Zuko another facial scar after she defeated him in the crypt.

But no, instead of actually engaging in sadism, all we got was The Psycho essentially playing a meaner version of the ultimately harmless pranks she used to play on Zuko as children, only on a grander scale and with no opportunity to repeat it again considering Zuko, and his allies assuming he told them about Azula’s motive rant, are now aware of her long term plans.

However, maybe my complaints about S&S are unfounded because maybe Azula’s character is not what adherents to the The Psycho interpretation of her character think it is. For maybe The Princess interpretation of her character is the correct one, and so S&S makes sense under that interpretation, right?

S&S (The Princess)

Well, in regards to The Princess, I don’t think Azula’s actions and behavior in S&S fits within this interpretation of Azula either. Especially since in S&S, The Princess is supposed to have not only regained her sanity, but also have moved past supporting Ozai as well.

For in regards to her nation, how does engaging in a mass kidnapping plot that turns the Caldera City masses into a fear riddled mess liable to start agitating for Ozai’s return, or working with a pro-Ozai organization that nearly succeeds in killing Zuko, as well as Ursa, Noren, and Kiyi, going to help Zuko become a ruler who rules through fear, or help his in reign in general?

For isn’t the source of the Fire Lord’s divine right to rule their ability to maintain order? And so by showing that Zuko is unable to keep the peace, isn’t Azula undermining Zuko’s rule? Especially since from the masses’ POV, unless Zuko later went public with the identity of the Fire Warriors, the Kemurikage spirits are rebuking him just like they rebuked Toz?

And while Azula did bloodlessly dismantle the NOS by forcing them to act sooner than they should have while also draining their coffers by forcing Ukano to care for the kidnapped kids, surely the person who essentially conquered Ba Sing Se with just three other people could have come up with a way to bloodlessly dismantle the NOS that didn’t involve needlessly traumatizing her subjects.

In regards to her family, why would Zuko, after the bullshit she pulled in S&S, ever want her back in his life, let alone do anything other than throw her into the nearest jail cell for life after having Aang de-bend her? And why would Ursa want anything to do with her after she endangered both of her siblings? Especially if Azula was the one who told Ukano about the real road the Fire Lord uses to travel to the Royal Palace from the Royal Harbor, and thus is responsible for almost getting Zuko, Ursa, Kiyi, and Noren all killed during Ukano’s ambush?

And in regards to her former friends, why would Azula sadistically fuck with them after regaining her mental stability? For even if Azula still hasn’t consciously accepted what her subconscious told her about her being wrong to control them with fear, isn’t it odd that someone who is still hurt by her friends’ “betrayals” go out her way to antagonize them, especially Mai?

For what was the purpose of slapping Ty Lee, when a simple punch would have done the job, other than to get back at Ty Lee for chi-blocking her at the Boiling Rock?

Is Azula so stupid that she could not see Mai interpreting her manipulating Ukano, as well as kidnapping Tom Tom, as anything other than her punishing Mai for her betrayal? Especially after her mochi rant in which she all but said that the Fire Warriors took image of the Kemurikage thanks to Azula remembering Mai fearing being tormented by them after Azula “convinced” her to steal the mochi Michi made for Mai’s grandmother’s birthday?

Like assuming that Azula does still care about them, does she realize that her actions towards them in S&S all but closed off any avenue for reconciliation? Because at least Azula’s actions towards them pre-S&S could be explained by Azula trying to be the daughter, and later general, her father demanded her to be, whereas in S&S, Azula doesn’t even have that excuse considering Ozai has long been disposed of.

“Why are you assuming that just because Azula regained her sanity and turned her back on Ozai means that she is suddenly going to become a good person? Abuse victims’ paths of healing are not straight lines; abuse victims often regress before becoming better for good like Zuko did in Ba Sing Se. So why are you acting like it is illogical for Azula to act like this, especially when Azula's mannerisms during certain parts of S&S, like her rant to Mai, indicate that she is still psychotic, albeit not actively?”

I recognize that healing is often not linear, and I do think it is more than logical to think that Azula’s healing will involve a lot of backsliding. But what I don’t agree with is the idea that Azula’s actions as a healing abuse victim make sense in-universe or meta-textually.

For example, while it was tough to see Zuko backsliding in regards to his healing arc by betraying Iroh and helping Azula not only conqueror Ba Sing Se, but also help put a lightning bolt in Aang’s back, it made perfect sense. 

And this is because in-universe it was obvious in retrospect that Zuko only changed because there was no feasible way for him to “redeem” himself to Ozai. Hence why he decided that if he could not be Ozai’s ideal son, he could at least be Iroh’s ideal son. 

However, when Azula gave him the means to get everything he wanted in life, with Iroh’s only response to Azula’s “offer” being telling Zuko to turn his back on his nation and family with no prior build up, of course Zuko would choose the easy path.

Meanwhile, meta-textually, Zuko choosing the easy path made his redemption arc that much stronger since not only did it give his redemption that much more weight when he got everything he thought he wanted, and yet rejected it because it was wrong, but also subverted audience expectations since Book 2 had been priming the audience for Zuko’s heel-face turn.

However, in-universe it doesn’t make sense that Azula would resort to using fear-based tactics when she knows, at least subconsciously, that her fear-mongering pushed away everyone she cared about. Not to mention the fact that, unlike with Zuko in Ba Sing Se, Azula doesn’t care about Ozai, and so there is no need to get back into his good graces by adopting his methods once again.

And meta-textually, seeing Azula speed-run through her TV show arc of using fear and manipulation to get what she wants, only to fail once people start standing up to her because love is stronger than fear, is boring since it is a repeat of her TV show arc. Especially since the audience will not take Azula seriously since LoK prevents Azula from succeeding, or even causing long-term damage, and so she lacks the credibility she had during the events of the TV show.

“But Azula regressing and resorting to her old tactics is good storytelling since not everyone can overcome their abuse, and so having a character who rejects help provides much needed realism to Avatar while also highlighting how special/lucky Zuko was to break out of the cycle of abuse.”

Personally, I don’t think Azula healing and then either finding peace or redeeming herself really affects Zuko’s story or character since I think she can be more than Zuko, Iroh, and the Gaang's foil. But even disregarding my personal bias, I don’t think such an arc will work because Azula has yet to receive honest, real help.

For instead of getting actual mental health treatment and de-Sozinfication, she instead got dumped in an asylum that not only abused her, but also would have been her new permanent home if Zuko didn’t, after realizing that the shitty state of his nuclear family reflected badly on him, decide to bring her back to the palace under 24/7 surveillance after she extracted intel from Ozai about Ursa’s possible location. 

Azula then only managed to go on the search for Ursa unbound and free, but with people who she hates, who (rightfully) hate her, and have no knowledge on how to deal with someone dealing with severe mental health issues, because she managed to break free of her restraints, find Ozai’s secret chest full of Ursa’s letters, and burn all of them except for the bastard letter, thus allowing her to blackmail Zuko into agreeing with her terms.

And even though Zuko during the climax of The Search offered to help her, she rejects Zuko’s offer since, as far as she is concerned, Zuko put her in the asylum in an effort to break her, and is only trying to make amends so he can put her there for life again, especially since he already got what he needed from her on top of her almost killing their mother in front of him.

I am fine with people not being able to overcome their abuse/trauma and rejecting not only help, but also a second chance to do better.

But when has anyone ever tried talking to Azula like a rational actor, or tried to explain to her the error of her ways?

For in my opinion, it is weird that most, if not all of the main villains in Avatar, got several chances to do better before becoming irredeemable evil because they consciously, as rational actors, rejected the heroes’ overtures to do better.

Hell, even Ozai got two chances from Aang to stop the war before Aang de-bended him and removed him from power.

So what makes Azula so dangerous or inherently irredeemable that she can’t even be reasoned with?

Unless…Azula was never a rational actor in the first place, and so my attempts to analyze her as either a very misguided person or cold-blooded dark triad is wrong. 

For maybe the correct way to analyze Azula is not with The Psycho or The Princess lenses, but instead…

The Crazy One

While most people like to believe that the people have their reasons for doing evil, there are the rare few who like causing pain and suffering just because. And The Crazy One is one of those people who got to indulge in all of her crazy thanks being born into a family actively waging a genocidal war on the rest of the planet.

Under this lens, Azula never had any reason for hurting others other than just because she wanted to, and only snapped at the end of the TV show because Ozai, the one person capable of keeping her on her lease, left her to her own devices, and so her destructive tendencies turned inward.

And this lack of a master, combined with her inherent craziness, explains all of her antics in the comics. For Azula was always crazy and insane, it is just that the shift from Azulon and Ozai’s regimes, in which cruelty and violence were celebrated, to Zuko’s more humane regime meant that her antics were no longer condoned, let alone legally acceptable.

Or in other words, who is mentally ill often depends on social context, and The Crazy One had her social context change almost overnight to her detriment.

And The Crazy One’s insanity removes the need to analyze her motives and desires because there is none, just like the Post-Crisis version of The Joker doesn’t really lead himself to deep characterization because there is no rhyme or reason to what they do other than to satisfy their sick desires and/or impulses.

However, while I do think The Crazy One interpretation is the one, on first glance, that best explains Azula’s actions in the comics, I don’t really think it works at all in the TV show.

For as far as current canon is concerned, Azula never showed any signs of mental instability before Mai and Ty Lee’s “betrayals” and never showed any signs of madness before her conversation with “Ursa” during Sozin’s Comet. 

Not to mention there is ample evidence that Azula does not do things for the lols. Evidence like (1) the fact the fact that she is constantly refers to/mentions either the Fire Nation or her father whenever she wants to accomplish something, (2) the fact that when she found out she wasn’t going with Ozai on Sozin’s Comet, her first reaction was yell at Ozai that he can’t treat her like Zuko, and (3) the existence of “Ursa”.

For in regards to (1), even if you think you think it is wrong to take those comments at face value since Azula is a raging narcissist who conflates the Fire Nation with herself and only talks about Ozai because he is the source of her power, at least self-aggrandizement is a motive beyond lols. Not to mention Azula does talk about Ozai even when there is no way Ozai, or people loyal to him, could hear her say so.

In regards to (2), the fact that she says, “You can’t treat me like Zuko!” the moment Ozai tells her she is not coming with him to raze the Earth Kingdom instead of telling him, for example, that it is her plan, and so she deserves to share the glory, or that she is the strongest firebender loyal to him, and so she can make razing the Earth Kingdom easier, or that she should come because she can help him the event that Iroh, Aang, and/or the rest of the resistance attempt to attack him during Sozin’s Comet, heavily suggests that one of her motivations, if not the main one, is to avoid losing Ozai’s favor, or even worse, become his scapegoat.

For it is quite obvious that Azula knows what happens to Ozai’s children who fail to meet his standards and/or “betray” him. And Azula has every reason to believe that Ozai is angry with her considering she lied to him about the possibility of Aang surviving, who really killed Aang, and whether or not Zuko was completely loyal to him.

(In my opinion, it is likely in the aftermath of Iroh’s escape that Ozai learned of Zuko’s visits to Iroh after having the surviving guard(s) investigated.)

Not to mention, on top of her lies, she failed to capture and/or kill the Gaang, as well as have her allies betray her, enabling Zuko to escape with several high value war prisoners.

But if (1) and (2) fail to convince you that Azula has actual motives, (3) is the strongest argument in my opinion. For “Ursa” is not some random figment of Azula’s imagination, but instead her heavily suppressed consciousness essentially telling her that she was wrong to use fear to control others and that her justification for doing so is completely wrong.

Azula believed that trust is for fools, fear is the only reliable way because she tried trusting Ursa, but Ursa “rejected” her due to being a “monster” while she got “loved” by Ozai as long as she feared him and did exactly what he said. Hence why Azula used fear to keep Mai and Ty Lee by her side, along with Zuko depending whether or not you believe Azula actually cares for Zuko, and why she was shocked and hurt that they turned on her despite knowing the consequences of doing so.

In fact, the existence of “Ursa” during the comics is exactly why The Crazy One interpretation of Azula’s character doesn’t make sense in the comics either. For The Search has Azula essentially listen to “Ursa” tell her that she was wrong, and that she can find a place in the post-war world if she just lets go of Ozai’s obviously erroneous teachings. And in S&S, “Ursa” stops “harassing” Azula once she decides her true destiny is to “help” Zuko.

Not to mention, the comics give evidence that avoiding becoming Ozai’s scapegoat is at least one of her motivating factors, for they show Ozai severely emotionally abuse Zuko in front of Azula, with Ursa, the only other (relevant) adult in the room, being powerless to stop it.

“But comics!Azula is raving loon whose conception of helping her brother is becoming a mass child kidnapping domestic terrorist hellbent on turning him into a tyrant!”

I never said that Azula having motives equals her being mentally stable, or that she would try to achieve her goals in a rational manner. Also, there are several good reasons why comics!Azula comes off a raving loon. 

For Azula spent at least a year in an asylum where she not only failed to receive any de-Sozinfication*, but also got abused to the point that she thought Zuko put her in there to break her, even though she knows Zuko doesn’t have that level of cruelty in him. And even after she escapes his custody and stops hearing “Ursa’s” voice, the artwork in S&S at certain times (ex. her rant to Mai about why the Fire Warriors decided to use the Kemurikage’s visage) suggests that Azula has not overcome her mental illness, but instead only managed to stop being actively psychotic…for now at least.

(*The only way Zuko and Iroh, who are similar to Azula in that they grew up as indoctrinated royalty, were able to turn away from Sozinism was by spending time away from the palace and experiencing life as peasants so they could see that Sozin was wrong about the other nations and the war. So, while I don’t think post-war Azula should be allowed to travel freely, or even to the other nations, I think for her to heal, she needs to be exposed to other cultures through stuff like unedited history books.)

“Come on man! If Azula is not a dark-triad seeking to dominate the world, a good person who had the misfortune of being born to an autocratic royal family waging a genocidal world war to facilitate settler colonialism and imperialism, or a loon whose only desire is to see others be hurt, then what is comics!Azula, and why is it bad for her character that she remains a villain?”

Well, I do have an explanation for what explains comics!Azula’s character, and why it is bad for her character. But before I do, I have to talk about the….

TTRPG

Before I get to the main conclusion, I have to address the recently released TTRPG, especially since its characterization of a non-redeemed Azula is for the most part what I wanted from the franchise.

For while the TTRPG does not talk about the abusive nature of the asylum, and how it worsened Azula’s mental state, the TTRPG makes it clear that Azula’s abusive behavior and imperialism was caused by being raised in the Fire Nation’s Royal Court, as well as due to Ozai focusing attention on his golden child, with Ursa, despite her best efforts, being unable to counter Ozai’s poisonous influence.

And that, due to her lack of de-Sozinfication, Azula is actively working to regain the throne so she restart the Hundred Year War and lead the Fire Nation to imperial glory by establishing a transnational, clandestine network of pro-war Fire Nationalists while also searching for means to overcome the Avatar’s overwhelming power like trying to find a scroll that describes how to unleash a dangerously powerful dark spirit.

However, no matter how much I like this course correction, it doesn’t make sense considering Azula’s previous actions and behavior in S&S. For if S&S!Azula had her TTRPG motivations, why didn’t the Fire Warriors kill Zuko and his allies considering they had the power to do so on top of their stealth advantage? 

Why did Azula kidnap Kiyi in the fashion that she did knowing that she was highly likely to get into a fight with Zuko and his allies, and therefore most likely expose her involvement, as well as her continued desire to antagonize Zuko?

Why did Azula essentially cause the NOS to collapse when, if Fire Warriors didn’t force Ukano to act before he had an adequate amount of support, it would have been the perfect vehicle to challenge Zuko? Especially since people in prison talk, and short of Zuko imposing a punishable by death gag order on everyone involved like Ukano and Mai, it would quickly become public knowledge hat her leadership is worthless considering she got most of her “allies” imprisoned and had to resort to mass child kidnapping to attempt to achieve her (on the surface) goals?

Or, if Zuko ever talks about what Azula told him in the tomb and it leaks out, that Azula thinks it is her destiny to mold Zuko in her image, and thus anyone who would support her would drop their support since, in addition to being a bonkers goal, it is obvious that Azula won’t succeed?

Why would a character noted for her martial genius essentially risk becoming a pariah to people willing to sacrifice their lives to put her back on the throne? Especially since she is aware that the act of banishing everyone during her short reign as Fire Lord-apparent (probably) makes people suspicious of her ability to maintain a hold on power without veering into insanity?

But maybe I am wrong for asking questions about Azula’s characterization and motives because she is not supposed to be a character with psychological interiority and motives.

For maybe Azula is not a character unto herself and only exists to help other characters develop as well as drive the plot forward. Or in other words, Azula is…

The Plot Device

After trying analyze Azula’s character through the three most popular interpretations, the best explanation for Azula’s post-TV show behavior is that she is a living plot device who exists solely to provide conflict in a story since the franchise needs a recognizable villain who has the means and motive to provide a challenge to the post-War Gaang. 

But not too much of a challenge since LoK all but says that the Gaang lived, for the most part, happy lives in which they became living legends. And so Azula can’t win or cause the Gaang to suffer any real personal or reputational loss. 

Hence why Azula managed to grow in power despite spending over a year in an abusive asylum before becoming a penniless, homeless, fugitive, and thus without any of the resources or stability she previously needed to grow in power. 

Or why she didn’t kill Noriko despite having her in her grasp with no one being able to stop her before dropping the bastard letter that would have helped her delegitimize Zuko’s rule.

Or why she was able to break into several asylums and find several willing, elite firebenders to join her terrorist cell without Zuko ever finding out.

Or why she was able to turn on Ozai despite lacking the life experiences and support that Zuko needed to realize that Ozai was not worth following.

Or why Azula had enough mental stability to essentially destroy the NOS from the inside, but not enough mental stability to recognize larping as a spirit and engaging in mass child kidnapping would more likely than not make her a permanent pariah to her family, her former friends, her brother’s supporters, and anyone willing to support her and/or Ozai’s claim to the throne.

Or why she didn’t outright kill Zuko and his allies despite having an elite team of smokebenders who were more than capable of matching the Gaang.

Or why she didn’t sadistically torture Zuko, or anyone she perceived to be even tangentially involved in her downfall, despite having several opportunities to do so.

Or why, despite telling Zuko that she thinks that it is her destiny to mold him into the tyrant of her dreams, and proving it by not killing him when she had the chance, she goes back to thinking that her destiny is to reclaim the throne.

Or why Azula is able to establish a transnational network dedicated to putting her back in power that Zuko can’t find, even with the resources of a nation-state, despite it (likely) being public knowledge that she destroyed the NOS thanks to her delusional leadership just like her delusions allowed the then traitor Zuko to take the throne from her, and thus cause the Fire Nation, with the Avatar’s help, to lose the Hundred Year War even though they had all but won it.

And you what sucks about Azula becoming a living plot device? 

Unlike other living plot devices like Post-Crisis Joker, whose existence causes the audience to ask thought provoking questions (ex. when is someone truly irredeemable, should vigilantes become executors when the law is incapable of putting monsters away, etc.) on top furthering post-crisis Batman’s characterization by highlighting how Batman’s no-kill rule doesn’t come from morality, but instead from his psychosis, post-TV show Azula doesn’t really cause the audience to engage with difficult questions, or further any of the other main character’s characterization in any meaningful way.

Thus, it is Azula becoming a living plot device, or more specially, a plot device that does nothing to advance the story or other characters’ characterization, is why I think Azula staying a villain will only lead to bad stories. For short of Aang’s era becoming a lot darker, or Bryke becoming willing to use Azula to drive meaningful change in other characters**, there are no more meaningful or exciting stories to tell with Azula.

(**I think an example of using Azula to drive meaningful change in other characters is having the details of Azula’s escape become public knowledge after she has caused a mass casualty event, forcing Zuko to realize that he has been a lackluster, selfish Fire Lord up to that point. Thus, public pressure plus the lives lost makes Zuko take active steps to become a better ruler, steps that cause Zuko to start becoming the respected Fire Lord that LoK heavily implies he became.)

For if Azula remains an antagonist and doesn’t get imprisoned and/or killed for good, she’ll just become an expy of Team Rocket where she shows up and causes non-irreversible trouble before blasting off again once she has either met her nebulous, ever changing goals or realizes that the Gaang has put an end to her current plot.

Moreover, I think a Team Rocket-esque Azula is a betrayal of her character because, regardless of your views on Azula, I think it is safe to say that TV!Azula was a serious threat who not drove the plot a good chunk of the time, but also forced the protagonists to grow in order to meet the threat she represented, especially after she killed Aang, caused Zuko to backslide, and took over Ba Sing Se with only one casualty.

And yet, for all the power-ups, the maniacal motive rants, and dastardly plots, post-TV show Azula doesn’t have the aura of danger that she had in the TV show, and I think her character suffers greatly for it.

Or in other words, when you saw Azula in the TV show, you knew shit would get real. But whenever you see Azula in a post-TV show work, you just go, “Oh, there goes that crazy Azula with her crazy plans that are doomed to fail thanks to LoK and Aang’s era’s age rating.”

Hence why I wish Azula would stop being a villain and at least either become an anti-hero or an anonymous peasant who has found peace and is a productive member of society, even if she never reconciles with her family and/or old friends.

Or, if Azula is too evil and/or broken to be anything more than a constant danger to society, that she be killed or imprisoned for life after being de-bended. For I would rather Azula be taken to the metaphorical woodshed then to see a once great character continue to fall.

Conclusion

So yeah, it is clear that Bryke wanted Azula to be the final villain, but it doesn't make sense how Azula can be such a threat or powerful bender post-Sozin's Comet. She clearly has no inner peace, she was restrained in an abusive asylum for at least a year, she is still too nationalistic to willingly incorporate techniques from other forms of bending, she no longer has access to wealth and power of the Fire Nation state, and she is a homeless, penniless fugitive. 

And yet she is the best H2H fighter and firebender in the franchise after the comics and is able to create a terrorist cell made up of asylum inmates without Zuko ever finding out before then creating a transnational network dedicated to helping her reclaim the throne, with Zuko being unable to find her, or dismantle her network, despite having the literal resources of a nation-state at his command.

Like I understand that Azula often tends to break the rules the franchise sets even in the show (ex. generating lightning despite being in the middle of a psychotic breakdown), but their need to keep Azula a villain is really starting to hurt the franchise.

Like if they wanted a villain!Azula, couldn't they, for example, have her become the first crime lord of the United Republic in an effort to cultivate power outside of the nation-state construct and to help prevent people from turning her in into Aang's allies' custody after she escapes in The Search?

Isn't that weird that comics!Azula quickly got over her trauma of being betrayed by Mai and Ty Lee in S&S? 

How did she manage to get over Ozai to the point that she would actively work against him and (presumably) getting reinstated as his heir? 

Why would she think it is her life goal to "help" Zuko, when the last time she helped him it ended in his betrayal and ultimately getting locked up in an abusive asylum? 

Why doesn't Azula care about having a conversation with real!Ursa?

Why would Azula, after the events of S&S, go back to thinking that her true destiny is to retake the throne so she can restart the Hundred Year War? 

Like what is the explanation? Well, as of right now, there is none, suggesting that they view Azula as just a plot device who only exists to drive conflict in Fire Nation-centered stories.

But not too much conflict since if Azula was to do anything truly irredeemable, it would make Aang and Zuko look bad since Azula only managed to get, and stay, free because of their incompetence, and in Zuko’s case, selfishness.

Therefore, it is for the above articulated reasons why I think Azula staying a villain will only lead to bad stories. 

For if Azula doesn’t/can’t drive change and has no discernible motives, why should we care about her character or the stories she is involved in?

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Honestly, I think "Azula in the Spirit Temple" takes place post-S&S, and will serve to not only align her with her TTRPG description, but also set her up as the main villain of the 2024 adult Gaang movie.

Because in regards to her design, her clothes are red and grey while her nails are sharpened like they used to be in the early part of s2. Meanwhile in The Search and S&S, her clothes are red and pink and her nails are filed.

In regards to the TTRPG, in the "Where to Find Azula" section, it has her traveling around the Fire Nation, and even to Earth Kingdom among other places, in order to find and use sprits as part of her schemes to take back the throne.

And yes, Azula wants to take back the throne despite it contradicting her actions and words in S&S.

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One of the more underrated complaints about Sozin’s Comet is the fact that Iroh, despite refusing to fight Ozai if Aang failed to return since the world would view it as two brothers fighting over the throne, sent Zuko to presumably fight his own sister to death for the throne.

In fact, Iroh does nothing to prepare Zuko to handle the aftermath of having to kill his own sister, who he still loves even after everything, in cold blood.

For it is one thing to tell your nephew that, in order to protect himself, he has to fight his sister with no mercy as long as she is under the influence of your POS father, and therefore will strike you down since she has a death or alive arrest warrant for your head, which is what Iroh essentially tells Zuko in “Bitter Work”.

It is another thing to tell your nephew that he has to basically to strike down his own sister in cold-blood for the good of the world, which is what Iroh essentially tells Zuko in “Sozin’s Comet, Part 2”.

And yes, I am pretty sure Iroh fully intended for Zuko to kill Azula since everyone knew that Azula would not go down without a fight, and no one could have predicted the chain of events that led to Katara being able to defeat a Sozin’s Comet-amped Azula without killing her.

And while there has been much ink spilled trying to answer why Iroh viewed him fighting his brother during Sozin’s Comet differently from sending Zuko to fight Azula during Sozin’s Comet, I think the answer lies within the canon insight book, Legacy of the Fire Nation.

Because Legacy of the Fire Nation makes it clear that Iroh views Ozai as what Zuko could have been if he never received guidance while also making it clear that he views Azula as an obstacle that Zuko would have to overcome, first to get Ozai's favor, and then, after his own redemption, to become the savior of the Fire Nation.

So when it came to the fight for the throne, Iroh didn't really think about the implications of having Zuko fight Azula because in his mind, Azula is not a person, just a thing to be overcome, like a hard to climb hill. Therefore, once she is disposed of, no one will really care for her, not even Zuko, since she isn't really a person, just an instrument of Ozai's mad will.

A hunch that, in my opinion, gets proven in the comics considering no one wants anything to do with her post-war except to further Zuko or Ozai's agendas, with the exception of the Fire Warriors.

Though Fire Warriors allying themselves with Azula can be easily explained by them trying to repay Azula for breaking them out of their asylums, where systemic abuse is present, abuse that, as of current canon, Iroh has no awareness of, and therefore could not account for during Sozin’s Comet.

And yes, I am aware that Iroh is the one who convinces Aang to allow Azula to come on the search for Ursa free and unbound by mentioning it could bring Azula peace.

But that could be explained by Iroh wanting to appear wise, and therefore hiding his true feelings. Especially since Zuko needed Azula's help to find Ursa considering she burned all of Ursa's letters as everyone knew.

Or by the fact that Iroh in-universe wrote Legacy of the Fire Nation over the course of several years after Smoke and Shadow, and so what Azula did during the course of Smoke and Shadow, as well as what she potentially did afterwards, might have caused his opinions on her to sour and/or cause his memories of her suffer from negative cognitive bias.

So to conclude, the reason why, in my opinion, Iroh was so nonchalant about sending Zuko to fight Azula to the death during Sozin’s Comet is because he really doesn’t view her as her own person, only an extension of Ozai’s will.

And so in his mind, there is no need to take politics into mind or Zuko’s mental state into account since once she is defeated alongside her father, no one will care for her, not anymore than the airships Sokka, Suki, and Toph destroyed.

A hunch that the post-war comics have sadly proven to be correct for the most part as of current canon.

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One common trope present in a lot of Tyzula fics, in my opinion, is super villain Gaang, who go out of their way to antagonize Tyzula, especially Azula, even though it makes no sense for the Gaang to behave in such a way.

For why would a group dedicated to restorative justice and are made of kind, compassionate individuals go out their way to antagonize Tyzula, especially if Azula has made, or is on the path to making, amends and has shown she has left her abusive behavior in the past?

Or why would they object to Ty Lee trying to get Azula actual treatment for her mental issues and/or move Azula to a better prison or asylum, let alone knowingly subject Azula to tortuous prison conditions, for example?

However, if one were to think about dynamics in play in any post-war Tyzula fic, it becomes very clear why a lot of Tyzula fics end up writing the Gaang as super-villains.

Because the Gaang, especially Zuko and Aang, are in control of Azula's fate post-war. And if they aren't written in an OOC fashion, they would be harsh with her, but allow her through word and deed, like Zuko did, to show that she has reformed, and thus be trusted with at least freedom.

However, a lot of Tyzula fics pervert the above into making the Gaang absolutely against the idea of Azula ever reforming herself since they think she can never change and/or need her to be a scapegoat for the war.

And I think those Tyzula fics do so because coming up with OCs, or other ways like anti-royalist movements, to drive conflict in their fics outside of Tyzula developing their relationship is really hard. So they take the easy way out by turning the Gaang, who would be antagonists in any post-war Azula fic, at least until Azula proves herself, into villains.

(Note: When I use antagonist, I mean it in the sense of someone who is against the protagonist, not someone who is evil aka a villain.)

Like from personally experience, I can't tell you how many Tyzula fics make Zuko actively against the idea of Azula redeeming herself, even though it not only flanderizes Zuko's character by making him a hypocrite, it also goes against canon where, as of the time of this post, Zuko wants to help Azula redeem herself.

Also, having Ty Lee stand up to the Gaang, often risking everything, is an easy way to show that Ty Lee's devotion to Azula is real. Especially since Tyzula fics have to deal with the fact that Ty Lee only joined Azula's mission to hunt down Zuko and Iroh because Azula threatened her, as well as the comics heavily implying that she never was friends with Azula, let alone had any romantic feelings for her.

Hence, for example, the common Tyzula fic plot point of Ty Lee disobeying the Gaang to help Azula escape and/or run away from the Gaang's custody.

Finally, I think having the Gaang as super villains is a (tacky) way to make Azula a sympathetic character, especially if it is one of those Tyzula fics where Ty Lee fixes Azula, and not where Ty Lee gets with Azula after Azula has fixed herself.

This is because, despite being a victim of abuse, Azula was a highly privileged individual who used her power to not only hurt her loved ones, like Ty Lee, but also engaged in imperialism, culminating in her suggesting and supporting Ozai's plan to burn the Earth Kingdom.

So post-war, where Azula is either locked up in prison or an asylum depending on the fic, Azula is a highly unsympathetic figure, especially if it is one of those fics where Ty Lee comes to fix Azula, despite Azula not really working on herself, on top having Azula (maybe) resist Ty Lee's efforts initially.

For an abusive, genocidal warlord is not a sympathetic co-protagonist, especially if she has the unconditional love of one her abuse victims and fails to recognize how blessed she is to have it, despite all the shit she put her (potential) lover through.

But if you turn the Gaang into jackasses, then suddenly Azula becomes a lot more sympathetic. Not to mention, it makes it easier to hand-wave and/or ignore why Azula ended up alone post-Sozin's Comet: her warmongering and abusive behavior.

So to conclude, I think so many Tyzula fics turn the Gaang into super villains because it is an easy way to drive conflict in such fics, as well as paper over the issues present in the Tyzula pairing.

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One common trope in a lot of post-war Avatar fics is Azula being cruelly tortured in the asylum or prison she is being held in, with the torture ranging from stuff like being chained up in a cooler to prevent her from bending to constantly getting assault by her prison guards and/or “healers”.

However, a good amount of these fics, instead of explicitly or implicitly condemning what is happening to Azula, fail to do so. In fact, they often have their narrative imply, or the characters out right say, that Azula being tortured is a good thing since it is justice for all her heinous crimes.

This, even though the show makes super clear that it, along with the main protagonists, adhere to the belief that eye for an eye makes everyone blind. In fact, the show, along with main protagonists, seem to believe in restorative justice along with rehabilitation. 

For the White Lotus accepts Iroh, Piandao, Jeong Jeong, and Chey despite them severing in the Fire Nation military for sometime, with Jeong Jeong being a former admiral while Iroh was Azulon’s crown prince and a general who besieged Ba Sing Se for 600 days.

Meanwhile, the Gaang accepts Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee, despite the three of them hunting them across the world, attempting to jail or kill them (at least in Zuko and Mai’s cases), and participating in the coup of Ba Sing Se that ended with Aang dead.

In fact, Aang makes it clear that everyone in the Fire Nation, including Ozai, should be given a chance, and is fine with the Fire Nation going unpunished for the war, save for Ozai and Azula, despite having every reason to want to liquidate the Fire Nation.

And while Word of God in the comics all but says that Azula was abused in her asylum due to the systemic abuse present in the Fire Nation’s asylum system, at least none of the protagonists know about it as of current canon. 

And considering Zuko’s desire to help Azula, I am pretty sure once he finds out, he would not only reform the asylum system as soon as possible, but also offer Azula a chance to get real help as a way to apologize, provided she hasn’t done anything irreversibly irredeemable of course.

So with the above mind, why do many fics sadistically torture Azula without condeming it, often glorifying it?

Well, I think it is because, even though one of the main messages of the show is that an eye for an eye makes everyone blind, ATLA's intended audience are Americans.

And while I don't want to paint a broad brush, from the preponderance of TV shows that glorify torture/cruel imprisonment as long as it is directed towards "bad" guys/terrorists, to the fact that America has roughly 25 percent of the world's prison population despite being around 4 percent of the world's population, it is clear that Americans' view of justice is retributive, not restorative.

So, going back to ATLA, the ending of the show and the comics has the Fire Nation essentially get off scot free for all their actions in the 100 Year War, that is except for Ozai and Azula.

Ozai already got his cruel punishment, having his bending removed after being given two chances by Aang to stop fighting before having to watch from his dank cell for the rest of his life as his unfavored son takes the throne and undoes all of his "hard work".

(Yes, Zuko goes to his cell and tells him that he hopes Ozai's time in jail will put him on the right path like his banishment did for him. But let's be real, no one in or out of universe believes that Ozai will ever change.)

Meanwhile, the TV show doesn't really show what happens to Azula after she is defeated during the Final Agni Kai.

So with Azula's ambiguous fate, there is a lot of room for people to write fanfics and headcanons about the fate she deserves. 

For even if Azula is an abuse victim, she on a personal level did abuse (or at least was a toxic friend and sibling towards) Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee. And in her capacity as a sovereign, she jailed the Kyoshi Warriors, conquered the Earth Kingdom, killed Aang, and suggested, helped plan, and full intended to carry out a genocide of the Earth Kingdom.

Like if Azula existed in IRL and was captured by America, I am pretty sure a strong majority of Americans would advocate that she either be killed or imprisoned for life for her crimes, regardless of her age.

And things get even worse in the comics, for Word of God all but says that there is systemic abuse present in the Fire Nation's asylum, abuse that worsened Azula's mental state.

However, instead of spending any narrative time on Azula's abuse, the comics not only fail to do so, despite it being responsible for comics!Azula's mental state, the narrative implies (imo) that she deserved such treatment, making her look crazy and ungrateful whenever she complains about being put in the asylum.

A sentiment that gets strengthened by Suki, Alone all but saying Azula knew of the torture present in the Boiling Rock when she sent Suki to it, meaning she is responsible for Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee being tortured due to sending them the prison.

So to conclude, despite being a show that preaches retributive justice is not justice, ATLA's intended audience comes from a society where justice is (mostly) only thought of in retributive terms. Therefore, combined with Azula's myriad of crimes plus the lack of any narrative sympathy towards her canon post-war treatment, people are liable to subject Azula to sadistic punishments in their fics and headcanons, even if it goes against the ethos of the show.

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A lot of ink has been spilled on how terrible Zuko’s life was, especially pre-banishment, until he realized that his father and his father’s regime were irredeemably evil, thus allowing him to finally escape the grasp of his abusive family and help usher in a world based on peace and love, not death and fear.

But in my opinion, I think Fire Lord Zuko's life post-Smoke and Shadow is almost as bad, if not worse considering the stakes, as his life pre-turning on Ozai. Especially if you take a moment to analyze the post-Smoke and Shadow status quo from his perspective.

• Highly abusive father who has tried to kill multiple times and hated you from birth is in jail for life after you (rightfully) betrayed him and was partially responsible for getting his soul mutilated. Despite your desire to see him find at least peace, he has no shown no signs of changing whatsoever, and therefore will likely spend the rest of his life in his dank cell, irrevocably estranged from you. That is outside of moments where you foolishly go to him for help, thus allowing him a chance to manipulate you like the boy who still deep down wants his father’s love that you are. Not that it bothers you (it does).
• Highly abusive and mentally ill sister who has tried killing you and your loved ones multiple times is now free thanks to you, and is now hellbent on turning you evil. And that the only way she stops, short of another psychotic episode, is by successfully breaking you, or due to you, or one of your allies, killing her, that is if you can kill her considering her exponential power growth and potential to keep growing since she still hasn’t reached her prime. Moreover, the reason why she became even worse, and was able to recruit people to her terrorist cell, is due to the systemic abuse present in the asylum system you thought would help her.
• The love of your life broke up with you in your time of need, though justified due to you keeping secrets from her even though she saved your life, before betraying you for her father.
• Your people don't really respect you at all, seeing you as the Avatar's puppet. And to a point they are correct since you made them give up their “hard-earned” colonies as well as pay reparations to the rest of the world. So they constantly try to kill you to the point that you have to hire foreign bodyguards to protect you since you can't even trust your own men.
• Your uncle, despite having actual political experience, has essentially abandoned you to reform your nation after a 100 years of war to live his best life in the city he besieged for 600 days.
• Your friends can't see you outside of diplomatic settings, or when serious shit happens, since they have to rebuild the world. Not to mention the fact that if you step even one foot out of line, no matter how justified, they will kill you. Though to be fair you did ask them to kill you if you ever went down your father's path.
• The rest of the world rightfully treats you with skepticism, knowing that you are one bad day away from being your father's son.
• Even though it is completely understandable, and you are glad to have her back in your life, a part of you hurts at the realization that your existence is directly tied to your mother’s trauma. Moreover, part of the reason why she doted on you is because she could delude herself into thinking that you could have been the child she should have had with your step-father. Additionally, even if she didn’t mean it, and wrote it only because years of abuse and trauma messed with her judgment, her letter claiming your were a bastard could have not only have led to your death as a child if your father was just a bit smart, but also could have led to your sister leading a civil war if not her dropping said letter for reasons unclear.

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Honestly, in light of the above, if it wasn’t for Kiyi, Ursa, and his sense of honor, along with his never give up attitude, what reason would Zuko have to live right now? Because unlike the audience, Zuko doesn’t know that everything will turn out ok, and that he will end up as a highly revered Fire Lord. 

All he knows is that is his family life, along with his love life, is in shambles, his friends can’t be just friends with him due to political realities, and he is constantly facing threats to his life and regime, with none bigger than the threat posed by his sister, who has (apparently) re-established the gap in combat prowess that existed before he visited the dragons.

Hence why I hope the 2024 Gaang movie, along with the standalone Zuko movie if it is still a thing, allows Zuko to get his life together and start becoming the revered leader that LoK says he became. 

Because despite being a literal king with very few bending rivals, being Zuko right now is suffering in my opinion.

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A popular sentiment among fans of ATLA is that if Katara used the spirit oasis water to heal Zuko’s scar, when faced with Azula’s choice to either join the Gaang or join her, and thus go home with full honors, Zuko would have joined the Gaang out of a mix of gratitude and realizing that any group willing to heal their enemy out of compassion is better than a fraction led by someone willing to burn his son’s face for standing up for soldiers.

However, I disagree, since for Zuko's transformation to be completed he needed to go back, with knowledge of the war, Iroh's love, and the weight of his experiences on his shoulders, so he could realize that Ozai and Azula where abusive, and therefore could never love him, at least in Ozai's case.

Moreover, he needed to go back so he could realize that that power and pleasure that the Fire Nation’s elite had thanks to the war was not worth all the pain and suffering that resulted from the Fire Nation’s war of conquest and genocide. 

All so he could reject the war, not because he had no way home, but because it was the right thing to do.

This is because Zuko's biggest scar was not on his face, but in his heart, caused by his family and indoctrination. 

And despite having shaken most of his indoctrination off due to three years spent as a banished prince, and his months as a Fire Nation fugitive forcing him to interact with Earth Kingdom commoners as a peasant, thus causing him to recognize their humanity, the scar left by his abusive family hadn’t healed.

For when Zuko woke up from his spiritual coma and seemingly embraced Iroh as his surrogate father, it wasn’t because he realized that Ozai was a jackass who would only approve of him if he proved to be a powerful bender willing to abandon all of his morals in favor of Ozai’s. 

Or that he realized that Azula would only ever respect and love him if he molded himself to Ozai’s desires, like she had thanks to every decent adult in their family abandoning her to Ozai’s influence, or being powerless to counteract it.

No, it was because Zuko had come to accept that there was no way he would ever be able to capture the Avatar with the lack of resources he had as a fugitive refugee, and therefore accepted his new life as Lee since there was no way he could ever restore his honor in Ozai’s eyes as far as he knew.

Hence, why he chose to join Azula, despite knowing the morally right thing to do, for despite (rightfully) mistrusting Azula, Azula offered him everything that he still desired: her and Ozai’s approval and “love”, as well as the right to go back home as Ozai’s heir. 

And why, If anything, Katara healing him might have led Zuko to never defect.

For Zuko has the emotional IQ of a rock, and so, without having a constant remainder of his father's "love" on his face that also was a constant remainder of the Fire Nation’s barbarism, he likely never would had the realization he had on The Beach on why he was so angry when he came back.

So conclude, as much as fans wish Zuko would have joined the Gaang if Katara healed his scar, I think he would have still joined Azula. 

For the biggest remaining rockblock to his redemption was not his indoctrination, or lack of interaction with nationals from the other nations without his royal status, but instead the fact that he hadn’t realized that his remaining nuclear family would never accept him unless he proved himself to be a powerful bender that had no morals except those in service of conquest and genocide. 

And that without going home, with his facial scarring intact, he would have never realized that his remaining nuclear family was not worth standing by, and therefore would have never joined the Gaang, condemning the world, even if Aang didn’t get killed by Azula’s lightning with no spirit oasis water to revive him.

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The direction that Avatar Studios will take Azula’s character in has been a hot topic ever since Avatar Studios’ existence was announced. And it has only become a hotter topic after the announcement of not only a 2024 Gaang move, but also a 2023 Azula solo comic as well.

So while I think it is a bit premature to speculate, I think the canon cookbook and TTRPG do provide hints as to Azula's final fate.

For on the one hand, the cookbook implies that Azula did eventually reform and at least became friends with Mai again. But on the other hand, the TTRPG has her wanting the throne again, at her wits’ end, and messing with spirits. 

So if we take the TTRPG at face value, Azula is likely to get herself killed, kill herself after losing for good and/or losing all hope, get thrown in prison for life after getting de-bended, or thrown in the Fog of Lost Spirits. 

Therefore, while I hope the cookbook's implied redemption arc is Azula's canon ending, I am doubtful that Azula will have anything other than a nasty ending at this point. 

And I am sorry if I upset anyone or triggered anyone.

“I don't know how you got all that from simple flavor text in a role playing game with dubious canon to be quite honest.”

Well, if she wants to dethrone Zuko, she will have to kill him and the Gaang. For they won't stand for her on the throne and Zuko will not give up, and therefore would rather die than become a prisoner.

Not to mention Azula knows from experience (Zuko, Iroh, and herself) that keeping any potential rival for the throne alive is begging for them to try and knock you off of it at some point.

If Azula wants the throne again after Smoke and Shadow made it clear, through her words and actions, that she no longer wants the throne or revenge, it means she is mentally regressing. And that, in combination with her being at her wits’ end, suggests that, in my opinion, she is liable to make one final push for the throne.

Moreover, it suggests that when she loses, she will likely have a second mental breakdown since there is truly no hope of ever "redeeming" herself.

Especially since she is liable to get killed or get locked up for life after getting de-bended since she is an adult now, clearly shown herself to be irredeemable, and just as much a threat to balance as Ozai or Yakone, for example.

Also, the last time a Fire National tried messing with spirits, they got thrown into the Fog of Lost Souls as punishment. So what makes you think the spirits will be so kind to a person trying to use them for their own profit?

Not to mention, even if the spirits fail to retaliate and/or end up working with humans, their human allies still tend to suffer horrible ends, only this time at the hands of other humans. 

For example, Yun fused with Father Glowworm and ended up getting his heart frozen by Kyoshi while Unalaq fused with Vaatu and ended up getting spritbended out of existence by Korra.

Finally, while I wish the TTRPG was of dubious canonicity, it was made in collaboration with Avatar Studios, with Bryke paying special attention to Roku's era. So it is just as canon, if not more, than the cookbook, which was also made in collaboration with Avatar Studios.

“I mean TTRPG says she may still care about Zuko, also the thing about spirits is merely a suggestion for how you can create the story, since it's an RPG, and therefore is not canon. Thus, I don't think the TTRPG is any indication of Azula's trajectory as a character one way or the other.”

Azula has always cared for Zuko, even though her upbringing warped her expression of her love towards him like it did towards Mai and Ty Lee. In fact, Aaron Ehasz said that Zuko was the person Azula loved the most outside of Ozai. 

However, she has proven willing to jail and/or Zuko when she deems him a traitor just like she was willing to kill Mai in a fit of rage after she saved the tratious Zuko before jailing her with Ty Lee for life after the later stopped her from killing the now traitor Mai. 

So I don't think Azula's affection for Zuko is going to stop her from killing him, especially if she wants the throne and knows that keeping him alive is too dangerous. 

Moreover, while you are right that it is just a suggestion, the suggestion does imply that Azula would be willing to mess with spirits since they are the only thing that can possibly pacify Aang.

In addition, considering that Azula’s solo comic is titled “Azula in the spirit temple”, it is not that much of a leap to assume that the TTRPG takes place after Azula’s solo comic, and thus the suggestion on how to play Azula is rooted in her (newly) canon behavior.

Finally, I am going to have to agree to disagree with you about the TTRPG's canonicity because I don't think Avatar Studios would spend precious time working with a company to introduce new lore to have it not matter, even if it is in a tabletop game that won’t be played by most fans.

I mean, they could pull a Star Wars, but Bryke has made comments suggesting that they intend to keep everything they publish canon, even though I wish they use Avatar Studios to retcon the comics.

“I think Azula simply wants something to believe in. The hallucinations she had in The Search shows that she doesn’t necessarily want the throne. So if Zuko were to offer her a position in his regime, or even just give her a prosocial suggestion as to what to do with her life in the post-war world, I believe that she could devote herself to her new purpose in life and be a happy, productive member of society.”

I too think that Azula simply wants something to believe in, and that if she is able to find a new purpose in life, she will become a happy, (relatively) well-adjusted, and productive member of society.

But the thing is that she is still dangerous and actively seeking to restore the old regime so the Fire Nation can wage war on the world again. So the priority has to be stopping and getting her back into Zuko’s custody, her sovereign, before she permanently hurts anyone and/or causes a civil war to break out.

Also, on a super cynical note, after everything Azula has done, not even including what might happen in her solo comic, why would anyone spend the time and effort to rehabilitate her considering she has alienated everyone who might be inclined to do so outside of maybe Ursa and Zuko? 

Especially since Aang’s era is lacking in mental health knowledge, and so as far as everyone is concerned, Azula was always evil and can never be anything other than evil?

But to conclude, hopefully the cookbook foreshadows Azula’s ending, and thus Azula was eventually able to take off her mask of fear and intimidation and find her true destiny while also reconciling with her friends and family. 

But I think the TTRPG more accurately foreshadows Azula’s ending, and so I expect her to not have a happy ending.

So if my hunch is right, all I want from Avatar Studios is to acknowledge that Azula is a product of nurture, not nature, that she was abused in the asylum, to have her become the undisputed GOAT non-spirit fused bender, and to have her final ending be as meaningful as the Final Agni Kai.

That and for her to go out like the tragic villain she is instead the Joker clone or Ozai clone people make her out to be. For if she is to meet an unhappy ending as a villain, at least keep her line with her previous characterization.

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Maiko is one of ATLA’s most controversial ships, for there has been much ink spilled on why Zuko and Mai are not compatible with each other. 

For those who think Mai is bad for Zuko point out that Mai was perfectly fine with hunting Zuko during S2, convinced Jin, an untrained civilian, to try and hit an fish on top of Zuko’s head, would have remained perfectly fine with the war if not for Zuko’s defection, was only mad at Zuko’s defection because of the way he broke up with her, and told him to never break up with her ever again during the first time they saw each other after the war ended.

Meanwhile, those who think Zuko is bad for Mai point out his possessive, toxic behavior towards her during “The Beach”, him keeping his conflicting loyalties from her to the point that he left the Fire Nation, as well as broke-up with her, without telling her in person, and never spared a thought on screen as to what happened to her after he saw her betray Azula to keep him and his allies alive. 

In fact, despite his coronation taking place at least a couple of days after the Final Agni Kai, he never thinks about whether or not Mai is alive, or to take her and her best friend out of prison if they are still alive.

And there are those who think they are both bad for each other because they are both introverts who tend to bottle up their emotions until they burst, on top of having possessive and jealous tendencies, and so they bring out the worst out in each other.

However, I think all of these complaints are easily rebutted by the fact that Zuko and Mai are abused, isolated teenagers who have no real good examples of healthy relationships and know what happens to those who don’t toe the line. 

Moreover, Mai was sheltered from the harsh realities of the war for most of her life until she got thrown in prison after committing treason considering she was a noblewoman who only left her bubble of privilege to join Azula’s hunting party. 

Meanwhile, Zuko, for good reason, couldn’t tell Mai about his conflicting loyalties since she was Azula’s friend at first, and so he runs the very real risk that she tells Azula and/or Ozai about his conflicting loyalties and ends up dead or worse as a result.

Additionally, just because we never saw Zuko on screen angst about what happened to Mai after the Boiling Rock doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. And trying to assert his authority after Ozai and Azula were disposed of must have been a nightmare that required his 24/7 attention when he wasn’t getting treatment for his still painful lightning wound, so it makes sense why Mai slipped his mind.

Also, just because they are very similar people with similar bad habits doesn’t not mean they are incompatible. In fact, most successful relationships occur when the partners are similar to each other. 
https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/busting-the-myth-that-opposites-att-10-08-31/ 

Not to mention, if they managed to learn that following orders is no excuse, why can't they learn to grow out their bad habits, especially when they have the rest of their lives ahead of them, love each other dearly, and are stubborn enough to not give up on their relationship?

Like to be quite honest, most of the hate Maiko gets is because the ship prevented one or more of people’s self-inserts from getting together. 

Especially those who self-insert as Zuko, and thus ship him with other characters like Jin, Ty Lee, or even Azula, since they can’t see themselves in a long-term relationship with Mai because she is too abrasive for their liking, too willing to stand up for herself for their liking, and/or not hot enough for them.

However, I think there are some legitimate arguments against Maiko on both sides of the ship.

For on Zuko’s end, I think a thing that is often swept under the rug is the fact that he selfishly let Azula out to find Mommy without asking Mai or Ty Lee, Mai’s best friend and the person who saved her from certain death at the Boiling Rock, how they felt about it, or granting them and/or their families adequate protection like a 24/7 protection detail as long as Azula was free and unbound.  

Especially after he loses Azula, causing the two of them to constantly live in fear of Azula's retaliation, a fear that was justified considering Azula manipulated Ukano, kidnapped Tom Tom, and only didn't go further because she became a non-sexual yandere for Zuko.

Like people get on Mai for not thinking about Zuko's needs, but Zuko clearly disregarded her needs, and therefore needs to be called out for it. 

Moreover, he needs to take active steps rectify his mistakes, like asking the White Lotus to hunt down Azula and her associates, as well as take action to make sure he doesn’t do something that could negatively impact Mai and/or her loved one’s lives again without at least asking Mai about it.

Meanwhile, Mai broke up with Zuko for going to Ozai for advice after his support group ghosted him, something that I support since if Zuko wants to trust Ozai over her after everything, then he needs to learn to not take her (nigh) unconditional support for granted. 

However, she then hides the fact that Ukano was leading the New Ozai Society, a secret that would have not only killed Zuko if not for him ass-pulling dragon fire redirection, but also directly contributed to the Fire Warriors kidnapping Kiyi among others like her own brother.

And when called out for her treason, Mai has the gall to respond that Zuko should understand how hard it is to turn on your father, like there is any comparison between Ukano and Ozai.

“But is there a comparison? If anything, with Ozai being more imperialistic and evil, it should've been easier for Zuko to understand, not harder.”

Personally, I don’t think so since the consequences of betraying Ozai were much more severe than the consequences of betraying Ukano. For Ozai was essentially the god-emperor of the Fire Nation with legions of assassins and armies at his command making it so his reach basically spanned the entire world save for the Northern Water Tribe. 

Moreover, he was so strong that even without the Comet, a three-element Aang, a metalbending Toph, and Sokka post-sword training refused to fight him after the eclipse was over, despite Azula telling them where he was. 

In addition, Ozai already tried killing him twice before his defection to the Avatar, and would have succeeded in his attempt to kill Zuko after Zuko announced his defection if not for Zuko knowing how to redirect lightning, a technique that Ozai had no awareness of at the time.

Meanwhile, Ukano is a physically and mentally weak sycophant who may have emotionally abused Mai as she was growing up, but also did nothing to her after she trashed his New Ozai Society hideout and left knowing where said hideout was, as well as the fact that he was leading a pro-Ozai terrorist cell. 

Moreover, she already betrayed Ukano when she decided to save Zuko and his allies in the Boiling Rock, for she didn’t just betray Azula there, but also betrayed the Fire Nation as well by helping a traitor and several high-value POWs escape. 

In addition, unlike Zuko when he decided to “betray” Ozai, Mai already had friends and allies in the other nations when she found out about Ukano’s leadership of the New Ozai Society. In fact, she is friends with Aang and is on such good terms with the Kyoshi Warriors that she called them to protect Zuko when his original guards were failing to do so. 

So, why would she essentially not only betray Zuko, but also her new friends and allies as well? Doesn’t she understand how badly they could get hurt if the Fire Nation devolves into civil war, or god forbid, if Ozai somehow manages to take the throne again?

Not to mention, Zuko is obviously not going to put people’s heads on a pike like his forefathers would have for treason. So it is not like Ukano was facing life or death consequences, or worse, if Mai decided to snitch on him earlier like Zuko faced when he decided to defect and told Ozai in his face.

So no, there is no comparison, and to make one is to severely downplay the threat that was Ozai.

“Ok, ok, maybe you have a point, but I still have a question for you: are they still able to redeem themselves after this (assuming they have Izumi together)? For Zutarians, and other shippers in general, often use arguments like yours to say Maiko is beyond reconciliation, even though a lot of their issues are not unique to them, and I just hate it!”

For the record, I am not a Zutarian, but instead a Maiko shipper (all of my works that have shipping in them have Maiko in them in some shape or form), but I wanted in good faith to acknowledge the best argument against Maiko.

But to address the above argument, just because Maiko has problems doesn’t mean they aren’t fixable, for the comics have a lot of issues, but one of the few things I liked about it was the fact that they had Maiko break up.

This is because while its execution was terrible to say the least, the comics recognized the need for Zuko and Mai to spend some time apart, as well as some soul searching and growing, before deciding to spend the rest of their lives together.

For in Zuko’s case, considering he barely spent two years as Crown Prince, he is severely lacking in knowledge when it comes to being Fire Lord, especially since he has to be everything that Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai, his most recent predecessors, were not, and especially since Iroh, the one person who could help, has decided to abandon his surrogate son to the wolves is retired in Ba Sing Se.

So Zuko needs to devote his undivided attention to figuring out what type of Fire Lord he wants to be, as well learn the finer details associated with being the ruler of the most powerful nation-state in the world, one that you are trying to reform after a hundred years of war and propaganda.

Also, on a more personal level, Zuko needs to figure out what type of relationships he wants to have with not only Iroh, Ursa, Noren, and Kiyi, but also with Ozai and Azula, if he wants to have any relationship with them at all. Not to mention, work on his other, non-romantic, non-familiar relationships, like his friendships with the Gaang and Ty Lee, on top of maybe finding some new friends in the Fire Nation as well.

For how can Zuko be a good romantic partner if he doesn’t have his professional life (mostly) sorted out and his personal life is in shambles? For it is unfair to himself and Mai to rely on her being the sole, or at least main, source of stability in his life.

Meanwhile, in Mai’s case, she needs to figure out who is she and what she wants outside the confines of nobility or the Royal Family, something that she is already doing considering she is working in her Aunt Mura’s flower shop and has attempted (key word attempted) to date someone outside of nobility.

For Mai has spent her entire life being the politician's perfect daughter, the princess’ loyal friend, and/or the Prince/Fire Lord’s dutiful girlfriend. 

Thus she deserves and needs to spend some significant time where she is not playing a role, so that if she decides to marry Zuko, and therefore become Fire Lady, it is because she is fully aware of the burden it entails, and yet she still stole choose to marry him because that is what she wanted to do in life, not what someone else wanted or expected her to do.

So to conclude, while most of the arguments against Maiko, in my opinion, are not serious since they are driven by shipping concerns, and not out of concern for Zuko, Mai, or both of them, there are serious problems with Maiko, namely how they treat each other in the comics.

Thankfully, however, most of their transgressions against each other in the comics haven’t led to serious consequences (so far). Moreover, most of their problems are easily fixable provided that they spend time apart and do some growing up, especially since they are teenagers with their whole lives ahead of them.

And considering they are already spending time apart, all that is left is for them to do some soul-searching that is hopefully on-screen and/or on-panel before becoming the couple they would have been if not for the war, the toxic Fire Nation Court, and their abusive upbringings.

Chapter Text

A common criticism of the ATLA comics is the fact that several characters, like Aang and Mai, think that Zuko is behaving like, or is on the road to becoming, his old man. 

For yes, it is true that Zuko makes lots of mistakes in the comics, mistakes like failing to talk to Kuei and Aang before unilaterally ending support for the Harmony Restoration Movement, thus almost restarting the Hundred Year War, or failing to ask Mai and Ty Lee how they felt about him releasing Azula from the asylum into his custody. Not to mention all the mistakes he made in the TV show like siding with Azula in Ba Sing Se or hiring Combustion Man to kill the Gaang.

But is it not equally true that Zuko was not only instrumental in taking down Ozai’s regime, but also enabled, albeit indirectly, Mai and Ty Lee to escape their toxic/abusive friendship with Azula? 

Did they not spend quality time with him and learn that, beneath the social awkwardness, anger, and hot-headedness, he is someone who wants to do the right thing, is willing to admit his mistakes, and is willing to rectify the harms he caused to the best of his abilities, even when he thinks there is no forgiveness or reward in store?

So why are his friends and allies so quick to label him Ozai 2.0 instead of trying to give him support and help him work through his problems, especially when they know he has the mountential task of reforming the Fire Nation essentially by himself, and especially when they know he is the only viable long-term claimant to the throne who is on their side?

Well, despite the comics never clearly stating the reason, I think the answer is quite obvious once you take into account what his nuclear family members are like, or more specifically, their mental states. This is because with Azula's fall to madness plus Ozai's mad plan to burn the Earth Kingdom becoming public knowledge, people know that mental illness runs in his bloodline, and so they fear that he too may fall into madness.

Hence why everyone keeps saying he is turning into Ozai, even though Zuko's actions are driven by a mix of selfishness, naivety, inexperience, and stress, and not the over the top sadistic maliciousness and ambitiousness that drove Ozai.

“Ok, that makes sense. But how come then they don’t insist on taking measures or offer him resources to help him stay clear of that path to begin with? For yeah they know that Zuko is susceptible to mental illness, but did they not see him fight against his upbringing, indoctrination, and abuse to do the right thing with no expectation he would get anything out of it other than a clear conscience?”

“So why don’t they help him establish a healthy support system instead of, for example, agreeing to end his life when it seems like he is going off the deep end?”

While I agree a hundred percent with the above opinion, the problem is four fold in my opinion. First, they aren't always going to be there for him most of the time due to living in other parts of the world, or in Mai’s case, wanting to spend time away from him and pressures associated with royal life. 

Second, he isn't just their friend, or (potential) lover in Mai’s case, but also the Fire Lord. So matter how hard they try, they won't always be successful at separating Zuko, their hot-headed, socially awkward friend/lover who risked life and limb to help end the war, from Zuko, Fire Lord of the reforming Fire Nation, and someone who has intimate ties to the old regime.

Third, apparently Aang's era lacked knowledge in regards to mental health. For even though "Nightmares and Daydreams" suggested otherwise, they have no concept of therapy. In fact, the Fire Nation's idea of mental health services are asylums that share more in common with torture-like 19th Century western asylums than our modern conception of therapy considering the usage of straightjackets.

(Even though they really had no other real way to restraint Azula, or the other Fire Warriors, that would not be equally tortious, if not worse, as long as she kept her bending, it does not change the fact that using a straightjacket on someone is torture.) 

https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/straitjacket/18727 

Finally, the Gaang, despite their feats and power, are all teenagers who are still growing up and dealing with their own issues and trauma. So I don't think it is fair to expect them to be the emotional support system that Zuko, who is the oldest one in their peer group outside of Sokka, needs. Especially when the older and wiser Iroh struggled to support Zuko.

“Ok, so the Gaang can’t take an active role in ensuring that Zuko does succumb to his inner darkness. Nor should they since they are too young and ill-qualified to play such a role in his life. But why do they treat Zuko at times like an irrational actor, or fail to treat him like one of their most important political allies?”

“For example, why did Aang agree to The Promise when anyone with any common sense would know Zuko was speaking out of fear? How come no one ever checked up on him outside of diplomatic meetings in the year between the start of The Promise and the start of the Yu Dao Crisis? How come Aang was so quick to kill Zuko the moment it seemed like Zuko was starting to slip?”

“If Zuko expects Aang to be able to drop everything to murder him, is he wrong to also expect Aang to drop everything to have honest conversations with him before he becomes an Ozai-tier monster?”

Well, my response is that friendship is a two-way street. Moreover, Zuko is a ruler and a legal adult, so it is not too much to expect him to not fall apart just because he does not have his friends by his side all the time. 

So just like the Gaang were being bad friends and politicians by indulging in his fears and letting him languish until he became liable to go to Ozai for advice and actual use it, Zuko was a bad friend and ruler, not to mention arguably a manchild, for letting it get to that point.

For Zuko should have never asked Aang, his best friend and someone with a no kill rule for deeply held religious and cultural reasons, to kill him if he ever started to slip.

Zuko, despite having Mai, and later the Kyoshi Warriors, by his side, decides to secretly seek advice from Ozai.

Zuko is the one who unilaterally ended the Harmony Restoration Movement and assaulted Katara when Katara and Aang tried to ask him why he suddenly changed course.

Zuko, despite getting shown mercy by Aang and convincing Aang that it was right to stop the Harmony Restoration Movement in regards to the oldest colonies, thinks that it is wise to have Aang set up a conference with Kuei to discuss the change in plans instead of making a beeline to the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace.

In fact, Zuko decides to go to Ozai for more advice and decides to bring an army to Yu Dao knowing damn well it is liable to restart the Hundred Year War, and only gets bailed out by Aang coming with the radical (in ATLA) solution of self-determination in the nick of time.

But to conclude since I I think I have rambled on long enough, the reason why people think comics!Zuko is becoming Ozai 2.0 because they know madness runs in his nuclear family, and so that, combined with their era’s limited knowledge on mental health, causes them to think that Zuko is one bad day from succumbing to his inner darkness. 

Especially since they are too young, busy, and ill-equipped to serve as the support unit Zuko needs as he attempts to reform the Fire Nation, and Zuko himself has not done the best job of avoiding situations where he is liable to succumb to his inner darkness.

So is there anything anyone can do to help him?

Well, outside of the Gaang checking up on Zuko more frequently, Zuko needs to continue working on himself, and in the process come up with healthy coping mechanisms both in his professional and personal life, so he can not only become the ruler the Fire Nation and the world needs, but also the healthy, happy, and (relatively) well-adjusted person he wants to be as well.

Chapter Text

A common complaint people have about Suki’s character is the fact that she not only quickly became friends with Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee while letting the latter into the Kyoshi Warriors, but also became Zuko’s bodyguard in the comics at Mai’s request, even though the Kyoshi Warriors have no ties to the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom needs help rebuilding.

For Zuko burned her village and only offered a meek apology when she pressed him about it while Mai and Ty Lee, even if they were instrumental in helping her, Sokka, and Hakoda escape the Boiling Rock, are never seen on screen or on panel actively rejecting the Fire Nation’s imperialist ideology or apologizing for the actions they took under Azula’s commands, acts that include helping Azula imprison the Kyoshi Warriors before using their identities to overthrow the Earth Kingdom.

So why is Suki so quick to forgive and befriend Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee when they, on the surface, have done little to apologize for their past actions and Suki still vehemently dislikes Azula, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee’s former associate?

Well, in regards to Zuko, best explanation for Suki quickly forgaving him is that without him defecting to the Gaang, not only would she still be in the Boiling Rock getting tortured (deliberate starvation is torture), but also the Earth Kingdom would have been burned to ground since the Gaang would have never confronted Ozai before the Comet passed without Zuko telling them of Ozai's plans for genocide. 

Moreover, assuming Aang doesn't find a way to restore the Avatar State without the pointy rock, or he never finds Iroh and learns lightning redirection from him, Aang would have died to Ozai's lightning if he tried ever tried confronting Ozai, especially during Sozin's Comet. 

Additionally, even if Suki hadn't completely forgiven Zuko by the time the Kyoshi Warriors became his bodyguards, she is smart enough to realize that if Zuko dies: the old and disgraced, both in the Fire Nation and world at large, Iroh takes the throne with no guarantee he lives long enough to raise another heir to adulthood; the world goes back to war since no one in the other nations would find it acceptable to have Ozai or Azula on the throne; or the Fire Nation devolves into civil war, with the rest of the world suffering as the violence will mostly likely not be contained in the Fire Nation, and the Fire Nation would likely to be unable to continue paying reparations.

Meanwhile, I think the best explanation for Suki quickly forgiving Mai and Ty Lee, outside of them betraying Azula playing a key role in her and half of the Gaang's survival, as well as playing a major role in Azula's defeat, is the assumption that they were forced to do Azula's bidding the whole time under the threat of death, or worse, to themselves and/or their loved ones. 

For I know people hate it, but the comics strongly imply that Mai and Ty Lee were never really friends with Azula, only her coerced subjects who had no choice but to follow her unless they wanted to suffer.

So I guess once Mai and Ty Lee got to explain themselves to the Gaang and the Kyoshi Warriors, with Zuko providing context, I think Suki decided to let bygones be bygones. 

Especially since she knows first-hand that Azula is willing torture those who have "crossed" her, and Mai and Ty Lee, at least until Ty Lee was transferred over to the prison where the other Kyoshi Warriors where staying, got thrown into the tortious Boiling Rock when they disobeyed Azula to protect a loved one.

So to conclude, the reason why Suki is so quick to forgive Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee while also allowing Ty Lee to join the Kyoshi Warriors and eventually become Zuko’s bodyguard is because: their actions at the end of the war were instrumental to her and the Earth Kingdom’s continued survival, she knows first-hand how scary Azula can be, and because she knows Zuko remaining on the throne is key to ensuring the post-war order remains in tact.

Chapter Text

Azula’s mental breakdown and subsequent fall to (long-term?) madness is one of the most talked about character arcs in ATLA, with much ink spilled analyzing why it happened, what type of mental illness(es) Azula may have, and whether she may be able to rise from the ashes of her shame and humiliation.

However, maybe Azula’s downfall was not meant to be some profound end to a 3-D character that still has people talking about it, even though ATLA last aired almost 15 years ago and her last comics appearance was in 2016.

No, maybe Azula’s mental breakdown and subsequent struggles with mental health only exists to nerf a villain sue whose sympathetic moments come due to wanting to give her an ambiguous mental disorder that nerfs her so that not only are Zuko and Katara able to defeat her, but also to prevent her from being a serious threat to the Gaang post-war. 

For if Azula didn't go crazy during Sozin's Comet, Zuko and Katara would have never gotten to the Fire Nation Royal Palace since she would have had the imperial firebenders and the Dai Li to protect her. And even if they did manage to get to her, she would have never challenged Zuko to an Agni Kai just like she refused Zuko's challenge in S2. 

Meanwhile, in the case where they manage to defeat her, if they had to kill her, Zuko's already shaky legitimacy is gone. And in the case where they manage to capture her, even if Aang de-bends her, she is still a potent symbol for pro-war elements to rally around since she never proved herself too unstable to rule.

Not to mention, Azula’s insanity also allows Bryke to use Azula as an antagonist in future works without having to deal with the obvious question of why doesn't Azula (attempt to) slaughter everyone between her and the throne if Aang doesn't show up and defeat her in the Avatar State.

For in The Search, if Azula was sane, she would have easily escaped the Gaang's custody and used the letter to start a civil war, not even bothering to find Ursa. In Smoke and Shadow, if she was truly sane, she would have slaughtered everyone who opposed her and/or was remotely tied to her downfall before taking the throne again and restarting the Hundred Year War.

Moreover, Azula’s insanity allowed Bryke to avoid having to answer the question of what type of punishment did Ozai's 14 year old second-in command deserve at the end of the war.

For Azula failing into madness gave them an excuse to have Zuko involuntarily psych war her in an asylum in a show of mercy that also conveniently discredits Azula in the eyes of the Fire Nation without staining Zuko and/or Aang’s reputations in- or out-of-universe.

So yeah, Azula’s mental illness is obviously a plot-driven nerf in retrospect, and therefore we should stop trying to ascribe deeper meaning to her downfall. 

“Nice headcanon you got there but canon disagrees with you. First of all, even if Azula didn’t banish the Dai Li and imperial firebenders, it wouldn’t have mattered since they are fodder to likes of Zuko and Katara, with Zuko’s Comet boost essentially canceling out the imperial firebenders’ Comet boost. Second of all, assuming Zuko would have challenged a sane Azula to an Agni Kai, Azula can’t refuse an Agni Kai, let alone one for the throne. Third of all, Azula wasn't strong enough to take either Katara or Zuko 1v1 by the end of the series. And finally, other than when Azula had Zuko at firepoint, there was no other time she could have killed the main characters after the war ended, so the idea she could have slaughtered everyone sans an Avatar State Aang is pure Azula stan wanking at its finest.”

In regards to the first point, the Dai Li are not fodder considering it took just two of them to enable Azula to avoid Aang, Toph, and Sokka as long as she did during the Day of Black Sun, and a whole unit of Dai Li agents plus Zuko and Azula was enough for Aang to decide to let go of Katara to master the Avatar State since he didn’t think him and Katara could defeat them all.

And second of all, since Katara and Zuko are entering the Fire Nation on Appa, they are essentially sitting ducks for a legion of Sozin’s Comet enhanced firebenders, especially since Zuko’s best fire redirection feat didn’t occur till Smoke and Shadow, and even then, he only redirected the fire of four firebenders, and not an entire legion like he would have to in this scenario.

And speaking of imperial firebenders, even if they are still relative fodder to Zuko, the Comet boost makes them superior to Katara if the fire produced by the soldiers who faced Toph in the airship are any indication of what the Sozin’s Comet amped imperial firebenders can do. 

And unlike those soldiers, the imperial firebenders won’t have to hold back for fear of destroying their surroundings since they will be firing into the air or in the Coronation Plaza, assuming Zuko, Katara, and Appa haven’t been burned alive at that point and manage to reach it in the first place.

In regards to the second point, Zuko was a literal traitor at that point just like in S2 when Azula refused his Agni Kai challenge. Besides, if anyone could walk up the Fire Nation Royal Palace and challenge the Fire Lord to an Agni Kai, how would the Fire Lord be able to do anything other than fight since they would be fighting Agni Kai after Agni Kai?

“Um, literally be so strong that no one even dares to challenge them since it's a death sentence? Like why do you think the Fire Lord is considered the apex firebender? For the Kyoshi novels, even if they take place centuries before the events of ATLA, say that even the head mistress of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls has to be the peak firebender at the institution to not lose her position. And Bryke have made comments saying that Ozai had fought in several Agni Kais as a Prince in order to keep his position; hence why no one challenges him to an Agni Kai as Fire Lord.”

So if that was the case ,why doesn't Smoke and Shadow Azula challenge Zuko to an Agni Kai instead of engaging in her 48D plan then? Especially since the TTRPG says she wants the throne again?

Not to mention, Iroh knew how to redirect lightning before Lu Ten's death, yet never challenged Ozai to an Agni Kai even after becoming enlightened, and thus realized the war was wrong, on top of (most likely) seeing his beloved nephew get abused daily.

So, if that line of thought about Agni Kais is true, wouldn't that make Iroh look passive as fuck at best, and a piece of shit at worst, even though Iroh is supposed to be respected and wise good guy after his enlightment?

Anyway, getting back on track, in regards to the third point, if Zuko was strong enough to take on Azula by himself, how come Iroh, one of the wisest characters in ATLA, someone who knows about Zuko’s abilities, and is at times a mouthpiece for the writers, tells Zuko to take someone with him to take down Azula? 

Or how come Zuko only challenges Azula to an Agni Kai after seeing she is in the middle of a mental breakdown? 

Or how come Katara refuses to directly confront Azula and essentially defeats her by tricking her with a trap that she would have seen coming a mile away if she was sane?

It is pretty obvious that Zuko, even after closing the gap thanks to training with the Dragons, is still not Azula’s equal, while Katara, even if she is arguably slightly stronger than Azula, is no match for a sane Sozin’s Comet boosted Azula.

And in regards to the final point, even if you discount when she had Zuko pinned down in crypt, she could have killed the main cast in several different ways. 

For she could have used the fact that no one was aware of the secret tunnels, or that she was in Caldera City, to covertly assassinate Zuko and his allies one by one with the rest of the Fire Warriors. Especially since no one, not even Zuko or Aang, have a reliable counter to their smokebending.

She could have actually helped the New Ozai Society, instead of manipulating Ukano into acting earlier so she could teach Zuko a lesson, and raised a true insurgency. 

She could have kicked Aang with fire when they were chasing after her on the Royal Palace roof-tops instead of just kicking him.

She could have fully charged her lightning so that when she redirected it at Zuko, it would have killed him when he failed to redirect it due to being caught off guard instead of just knocking him off his feet.

She could have slashed Ty Lee with a fire dragger instead of slapping her. 

She could have kicked Mai with fire instead of just kicking her, or more generally, actually attacked Mai to kill her instead of toying with her the whole time when they were in the Garden of Tranquil Souls.

Not to mention the fact that not only has her battle awareness and speed increased, for she dodged a serious Ty Lee trying to chi-block her from her blindside while also casually dodging Mai’s knives, but also she now has quick charge lightning; instant lightning; the ability to wield lightning like a bootleg chidori; the ability to make lightning spheres; the ability to make lightning zaps; lightning redirection; instant area of effect lightning; the ability to control and spilt her lightning stream after she has fired it; concussive lightning; faster fire jets; and, most controversially, the apparent ability to psychically generate and manipulate smoke.

There are other things she could have done, but that point is that if Azula really wanted Zuko and company dead during Smoke and Shadow, they would be dead. 

And even if she was foolish enough to try to attack them head-on, there is a really strong argument that the only person who could stop her is an Avatar State Aang, assuming her encounter with Katara does not take place during a full moon.

So to conclude, maybe there is no deeper reason for Azula’s mental breakdown other than the writers backing themselves into a corner and realizing that the only real way a sane Azula would ever get stopped is by Avatar State Aang. 

That and they did not want to deal with the thorny issue of what punishment a sane Azula would get for her actions taken during the war while also wanting the option to use Azula as ongoing villain without having her rack-up a high body count before she is stopped.

Without her mental breakdown, in regards to the TV show, at best the Final Agni Kai never happens, and at worst, Zuko, Katara, and Appa are all dead. Meanwhile, in regards to the comics, at best Azula leads a bloody insurgency before she is stopped for good, and at worst, the Hundred Year War restarts without anyone able to stand up to her.

So yeah Azula needed to be nerfed, and they ended up doing it with the one thing that could truly stop her: herself.

Chapter Text

Most people think that ATLA is a perfect, or at least a nigh perfect, show with amazing character arcs, excellent worldbuilding, and a plot that is executed to a tee even if it is a bit basic.

However, I think there are some issues with S3 that not only prevent it from reaching the level of S2, but also set the seeds for a lot of the issues seen in the comics.

So what are those issues? Well, I always maintain that S3 needed to give us: an Ozai-centered episode so we could see more of his non-Sozin’s Comet amped bending, as well show how he became the feared ruler he is in present, something that could also flesh out General Crown Prince Iroh depending what aspects of Ozai’s past is shown; a Mai and Ty Lee-centered episode to show whether or not they were ever really friends with Azula, as well as plant the seeds for their betrayals and rapid heel-face turns; and an Azula-centered episode after the Boiling Rock that recaps ATLA from her POV so her fall to madness is less of an ass pull jarring and better explained (i.e. was she always “insane” or was it just a stress-based meltdown?).

For example, in regards to Ozai, showing him easily putting down an attempted coup through sheer fighting prowess would have been a great set up for the final confrontation, especially after three books dedicated to repeating the mantra of “Aang can't beat the Firelord without learning all the elements”.

That and the fact that, even if it is heavily implied by the fact that three element Aang, metalbending Toph, who is shortly shown to be at worst relative to King Bumi, and post-training Sokka want nothing to do with Ozai after the eclipse, as well as Avatar Extras outright stating it, it would have been hard explicit proof that Ozai was the strongest bender of his time, and that no one outside of a fully realized Avatar stood a chance against him.

Also, seeing Ozai put down a coup would also solidify that the Fire Nation still has standards despite their loyalty to him. For the coup could be led by a bunch of generals rebelling against the insanity that is burning an entire continent down, one that not only has potential resources to be used, but also is already home to scores of colonialists. 

Or you could have the coup led by power-hungry fools whose desire for power and fame clouds their better judgment in regards to challenging Ozai if you didn’t want to show (somewhat) decent people getting brutally maimed as Ozai burns them alive or shoots them with lightning suffer unclear fates.

For in my opinion, one of the problems with the finale, and especially with the comics, is that it glosses over the fact that there would likely be massive resistance to Zuko taking the throne, let alone ending the war after the Fire Nation all but won it. 

So by showing that there were already people in power who disagreed with Ozai, I think it would have helped make the transition from Ozai to Zuko less jarring by showing that Zuko already had a base of support within the Fire Nation, or at least that there are people willing to deal with him if only to increase their power and status.

“I wouldn't have liked a direct Ozai episode since I liked the mystery behind him as a character, especially since The Beach and The Promise hinted he somewhat loved his kids and wife due to taking them on vacations, allowing Zuko and Azula to play with each other, saved a toddler Zuko from drowning, and even put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder in approval at least once. So even if I agree with you that Ozai needed more screen time, instead of a direct Ozai episode, we instead should have gotten more hints that Ozai may have loved his family, including Iroh.”

Well, in regards to the hints that Ozai loved his family, it is pretty clear after the comics that whatever positive moments Zuko remembers is just him being nostalgic for the times before Ozai became “worse” after Ursa's banishment, especially since it is only at the end of The Search when Zuko learns the truth behind Ozai and Ursa’s marriage, and thus realizes that Ozai always had it out for him from birth.

Meanwhile, Ozai’s rare moments of mercy could easily be explained by Ozai not wanting to alienate his spare, for even after burning and banishing Zuko after realizing that he was not even worth keeping around, he still kept him alive as an insurance policy in the case that Azula ever failed, something that also served to push Azula to reach her full potential at all costs.

Besides, my comments were not about not humanizing Ozai, but instead trying to justify Ozai’s position as the big bad of the show. For Ozai is supposed to be the culmination of a hundred years of war and corruption in physical form. 

Hence why a war that was started by a leader seeking to “spread” the Fire Nation’s prosperity ended becoming an ego trip lead by a tyrannical manchild who not only abused his family to the point that he burned and banished his loyal son for “disrespecting him”, but also was willing to burn down his nation’s present and future colonies just to sate his god complex.

So I wish we saw more of Ozai’s unhinged ruthlessness in action. 

For part of the reason why Ozai is a lackluster big bad, in my opinion, is because despite expecting the "big bad" behind Zuko, Zhao, Azula, and the rest of the Fire Nation to display unmatched strategic genius, or at least unmatched physical prowess, you never really get to see any of that outside of the Day of Black Sun, and even then, Ozai only survives the day because Zuko decided killing Ozai was Aang’s destiny, not his.

And no, Sozin’s Comet is not a good showing for Ozai because, on top of the fact that he foolishly decided that burning the Earth Kingdom was a good idea, not to mention failing to take into account the possibility that the Avatar and/or his brother would attempt to confront him during the Comet’s passing since he doesn’t have legions of soldiers to hide behind, everyone out-of-universe knew Aang was going to defeat him. 

But not because ATLA was a children's cartoon show, but because the final episodes had the Gaang debate whether or not Aang should kill him or not. 

Like how can you be a credible final boss if the real challenge is not defeating you, but instead how to defeat you without forcing the protagonist to kill you?

And yes, I know that Aang’s struggle to uphold his people’s values while also upholding his Avatar duties is the true struggle of Sozin’s Comet. 

But what I am getting at is that despite the entire series building up to the Aang vs. Ozai fight, it is undermined by the strong implication that Aang could have killed Ozai at any point if he wasn’t so committed to his Air Nomad values.

Like why spend an entire series hyping Ozai as this nigh-unstoppable juggernaut that only the Avatar can beat, only to have the main conflict in his fight against Aang be Aang’s conflict between his Air Nomad values and his duty to the world?

Thus, that is the crux of the problem with Ozai’s lack of screen time in S3. 

For in an effort to keep Ozai a mysterious, badass monster, they kept him hidden in the shadows and limited his screen time, as well as his interactions with the main cast, including his own children, to the point that when he finally starts to play an active role in the story, he is no monster, but instead is just a misshapen shadow.

But moving on, in regards to Azula, I always maintain that we were missing an episode in S3 post-The Boiling Rock that tells Azula's life story up to that point from her POV so her caring about Mai, Ty Lee, Ozai and Zuko is better established, as well providing better foreshadowing for her fall to madness and/or show her dealing with her canon mental illness(es) and have it get worse as people start "abandoning" her like Ursa did. 

Especially since for most of the show, you get the sense that Azula is more likely to betray Ozai to temporarily sate her insatiable hunger for power rather than fawn over him, for the popular theory, at the time of the show’s airing, that Azula would usurp her father and become the surprise big bad of the entire series didn't come out of nowhere.

For that “missing” episode, combined with the distinct lack of post-show material with Azula’s POV front and center, heavily suggests that Azula’s fall to madness was due to the writers realizing that it would otherwise require an asspull, or Aang in the Avatar State directly confronting her, to defeat her. 

For example, if Azula didn't go insane, there is no way Katara and Zuko could have gotten to her during Sozin's Comet since she would have had the Imperial Firebenders and the Dai Li by her side. Not to mention, even if by some miracle they did get to her, she would have refused any Agni Kai challenge by Zuko like she did during S2 before using Sozin's Comet to kill them in a 2v1.

Moreover, Azula going insane allowed them to avoid having to answer the question of what type of punishment did Ozai's fourteen year old second-in command truly deserve on top of allowing them to use Azula as an antagonist in future works without having to deal with the obvious question of why doesn't Azula (attempt to) slaughter everyone between her and the throne if Aang doesn't show up and defeat her in the Avatar State.

“Ok, that sounds nice and all, but why would you spend time humanizing one of the most vile villains in the entire show? And even in the case that she is a product of nurture, how would you be able to maintain the victim and victimizer dichotomy that Azula would have?”

First of all, when I wish that they spent time showing us Azula’s POV, I don’t mean that I want her to get reduced to some “uwu soft baby” who did nothing wrong but be indoctrinated and abused, for that would be taking away all agency from Azula, as well minimizing the harm she caused not only as a friend and sibling, but also the harm she caused as a leading agent of imperialism and settler colonialism.

Or in other words, what I wanted was not justification, but (more) explanation.

That and an explanation for why Azula was able to generate lightning during Sozin’s Comet. For even if she has severe ASPD, she did not have the inner peace to generate lightning during Sozin’s Comet if Iroh’s words during Bitter Work are to be taken at face value.

And second of all, I think it would be easy to maintain the victim and victimizer dichotomy that Azula has if she were to get narrative focus just like it was easy to keep such a dichotomy for Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, Jet, and Hama when they got narrative focus, however little it may have been for some of them.

Personally, for example, I think Azula started suffering from a childhood schizoaffective disorder after Ursa left and Ozai had her start doing henious things like torture agitators. But as long as she had her friends and Zuko, she could manage the symptoms. 

However, after they left she started to become worse. 

Hence, why she seeks out Mai and Ty Lee for her small, elite team, as well as "redeem" Zuko the moment it is possible: because she wants them in her life. And hence why Azula is so normal and happy in the pre-DoBS part of S3. 

But after Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee, and Ozai all "betray" her, she finally becomes actively psychotic since there is no one to keep her mind occupied.

So, even if you disagree with my particular headcanon take on what Azula’s life was like outside of the events we see on screen and/or on panel, I think it is easy to maintain the victim and victimizer dichotomy that Azula has even if her POV were to get focus in the story.

So moving on, in regards to Mai and Ty Lee, I think we were missing an episode that not only clarified the nature of their relationship with Azula, but also planted seeds for their eventual betrayals, as well as their rapid heel-face turns.

For while the comics heavily imply that Mai and Ty Lee were never friends with Azula, only coerced subjects who were not in a position to push back against her for most of their lives, it would have been nice to get explicit confirmation that they were never really friends with Azula.

Or if they were friends at one point, show that they started to dissociate themselves from her, at least emotionally, after Ursa left and Ozai started to mold her even harder, or after Azula made clear it after reuniting them that she valued achieving her and Ozai’s goals over their well-being, as well as that of their loved ones.

Also, it would have been nice to see them not be a hundred percent ok with the war since not only is Mai seen with the Gaang during the closing scene of the show while Ty Lee joins the Kyoshi Warriors despite their past, but also due to the fact that they are staunch allies of the Gaang in the comics, with Mai only slightly wavering due to Zuko alienating her and Ukano taking advantage of the fact that no daughter wants to send their father to prison for life to prevent her from squealing on the New Ozai Society sooner.

For even if they may have hated the way Azula treated them, and could not turn against her without suffering severe consequences, there is evidence that they enjoyed fighting in the war. 

https://at.tumblr.com/wingsfreedom/return-to-omashu-mai-please-tell-me-youre-here/65itg3n3ikwj

Moreover, there is evidence that might have even believed in the Fire Nation’s imperialist ideology depending on how one interprets their taunts towards the Kyoshi Warriors as they were taking them down, as well as the fact that Mai is upset at Zuko when they meet up in the Boiling Rock partially due to the fact that he committed treason against their country.

Not to mention Mai seemingly being swayed by Ukano’s speech to her about how Zuko is willing to “strong-arm” and alienate everyone in the Fire Nation, including her, his one true Fire Nation friend.

“But why did we need an episode stating the obvious though? For it is like you said, it is heavily implied that Mai and Ty Lee were never friends with Azula and were like Zuko in that they were good people trapped in a bad system that heavily indoctrinated them from birth. So it makes sense why they changed quickly, with Mai’s actions in the comics being driven by Zuko alienating her like a dumbass and Ukano putting her in a no-win situation.”

Well, that all may be true, but it still doesn’t change the fact that their heel-face turns essentially come out of nowhere, with hints that they might turn being subtle enough that viewers might miss them on their first viewing. 

For example, the look Mai and Ty Lee give each other when Azula tells Kuei it sucks that you can’t trust the people closest to you, the dirty look Mai gives Azula when she orders Mai to leave her and Zuko alone despite Mai and Zuko having a picnic date, or Ty Lee’s advice in regards to getting boys being essentially what she does to placate Azula.

Nor is there ever any hints, unlike with Zuko for example, that they disagree with the Fire Nation’s imperialist ideologies. So showing that they too don’t like the Fire Nation’s imperialist ideologies before their betrayals would have made them quickly become friends with, and staunch allies of, the Gaang make more sense.

Especially since as far as we know, unlike Zuko or Iroh, they never underwent de-Sozinfication due to experiencing life as peasants who are also enemies of the Fire Nation.

(Yes, I am aware that Ty Lee probably got de-Sozinfied by interacting with the Kyoshi Warriors in jail, and that in the “Sisters” comics, she all but says she joined the Kyoshi Warriors to help the world heal from the Fire Nation’s imperialism. But it still doesn’t change the fact that this is only implied, and thus is a mostly headcanon interpretation of Ty Lee’s post-war actions.)

Not to mention the fact that Mai refuses to squeal on the New Ozai Society until Kiyi is kidnapped and seems even swayed by Ukano’s pro-Ozai/anti-Zuko speech.

For the fact that Mai behaved the way she did, even though she knew that if Ozai returned to the throne, it would mean the Fire Nation would restart the war of conquest she now knows, or at least should know, is wrong, implies that she never got fully de-Sozinifed, or at least to the extent that Zuko or Iroh did for example.

So to conclude, I personally think that Avatar is a masterpiece and is one of the best works ever produced in Western Animated history. But it does not mean that it is without its flaws, for I think S3 was missing episodes focusing on Ozai, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee that would not have only enhanced their characters and role in the narrative, but also would have prevented a lot of the issues present in the comics.

For in regards to Ozai, would it have been too hard to show us interacting with his kids? Mai and/or Ty Lee? Iroh in his cell? Or show him actively being Fire Lord outside of his war council meeting? Or have him take down a coup attempt, showing why the only person other than Iroh who stands a chance against him is a fully realized Aang?

In regards to Azula, would it have been too hard to delve into her background so that not only does the question of whether Azula is a product of nature or nurture not plague fandom and the franchise for years, but also clarifies what exactly is her issue(s)?

And in regards to Mai and Ty Lee, would it have been too hard to delve into their backgrounds so that not only was a definitive answer given to the question of whether they were ever Azula’s friends, but also so their heel-face turns, as well how hard they turned, wouldn’t have been so jarring?

No, hence why I think ATLA S3 has three issues that prevent it from being on the level of ATLA S2.

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On the surface, Zuko becoming Fire Lord seems like the cherry on top for his happy ending. 

For him and Mai, who thankfully survived committing treason on Zuko’s behalf, are now able to rebuild their relationship on healthier grounds now that they are no longer under the yoke of Ozai’s regime, he has gained true friends in the form of the Gaang, he finally realized that Iroh was his true father all along and managed to rebuild his relationship with him, his abusive father and toxic at best sister are locked up and unable to hurt him or the ones he loves ever again, he atoned for the most part for helping Azula take over Ba Sing Se, and is now posed to help his nation redeem themselves like he did in regards to himself.

However, if you dig deeper, you start to realize that Zuko’s happy ending is not so happy after all. For he has no blood family that doesn’t hate him and isn’t rightfully locked up except for Iroh, who decided to spend his retirement in Ba Sing Se as a tea maker thousands of miles away from Zuko, and thus is hard to reach in a timely fashion.

The Gaang may be his friends, but they also have their own lives, responsibilities, and families, and so they won’t be able to stay in the Fire Nation for long outside of diplomatic meetings. 

Not to mention the fact that they can never again be just friends like the couple of weeks they spent together fighting to end the war, for Zuko is no longer just their friend, but also Fire Lord of the reforming Fire Nation as well.

And with Ty Lee, until the Kyoshi Warriors become his bodyguards, moving to Kyoshi Island so she can be a Kyoshi Warrior, the only person who he trusts who is constantly in his life is Mai, who loves him dearly, but is ill-equipped to help Zuko deal with his emotional struggles as he continues to heal from his upbringing, let alone the political struggles Zuko will encounter as he attempts to de-Sozinfiy the Fire Nation.

Especially since Mai is a 15 year old teenager who also needs to continue healing from her upbringing and has no relevant experience when it comes to governing.

LIke if we are being honest, Zuko never really had a chance to figure out what truly made him happy. 

For instead of getting time and space to figure out what he wants to be now that the war is over and he is free from Ozai, Zuko instead has to be Fire Lord at least until his heir is of age since Iroh said that it was Zuko who had to the take throne, with Zuko obliging due to wanting to please his real father his sense of honor and responsibility.

All this even though he was only crown prince for two years and the couple of weeks he was in the Fire Nation after his banishment was lifted, which does not bode well for someone trying to reform a nation that has waged an immoral war of conquest for over a hundred years and is so heavily steeped in propaganda to the point that the average person considers airbending demonic.

Hence, why I think the show should have ended with Iroh taking the throne with Zuko as his heir instead of what ended up transpiring.

That way, not only can Zuko continue his crown prince education, an education that was almost certainly interrupted by his banishment, but also so that Zuko has the space to heal and grow without the burden of guiding and reforming the post-war Fire Nation weighing him down. 

Especially since guiding the Fire Nation through the early steps of de-Sozinization would be a struggle for even an experienced monarch, let alone a 16/17 year old with no real experience in governing.

This is because Zuko has no experience, as far as we know, dealing with court politics or running the administrative state of an industrial superpower. 

Zuko has no real connection with his people despite his banishment forcing him to interact with and empathize with Earth Kingdom commoners. Thus, it is hard to see how Zuko can craft policies to help de-Sozinize them, let alone gain their support for such policies outside of the implicit threat of the Avatar. 

Whereas Iroh, despite also being a traitor, was once a beloved war general, and so he can use his status, even if it is heavily diminished by his actions during the end of the war, to get people to buy into his de-Sozinzation policies.

Though I admit that Iroh, like Zuko, has no real connection with Fire Nation commoners.

And Zuko would likely struggle to determine what type of relationship, if any, he would like to have with Ozai and/or Azula after everything that has transpired. And if he chooses to try to interact with them, he is likely to get manipulated like he did in the comics. 

But if he doesn't have the throne, at least the consequences of such manipulation would only be limited to his personal life, and not have dire consequences like what happened with Yu Dao or the lingering threat that an escaped Azula presents in canon to the post-war order.

Not to mention, I think Zuko not getting the throne because he isn't ready for it would send a good message of how just because Zuko redeemed himself doesn't mean that he is now perfect, and thus doesn't need to further heal and grow, as well as avoid giving Zuko the thing he wanted at the start of the show. 

For Zuko in the start of the show wanted the throne for validation, and while after betraying Ozai he never expected it until he met with Iroh in the White Lotus encampment, he ultimately ends up getting what he wanted all along. But if he didn't get the throne, at least for the time being, I think it would better show that Zuko has moved past the throne being (external) validation, as well as strengthen his claim that he didn't betray Ozai for the throne, at least in-universe. 

This is because even though we the audience know that the Zuko betrayed Ozai's regime due to being horrified by Ozai's plan to genocide the Earth Kingdom, the general population doesn't. 

And so it is likely to appear to them, or at least a significant proportion of the Fire Nation population, that Zuko betrayed his father, sister, and nation in order to get the throne he knew he would never get due to not being his father's favorite, even if it meant becoming the Avatar's puppet.

Also, while it is true that the other members of the Gaang all play active roles in the post-war order despite being pre-teens or teenagers themselves, none of them are formerly engaged in politics or ruling outside of Aang, who is the Avatar, and thus sadly can’t delegate his responsibilities to an adult until he is emotionally and mentally ready, a burden that the show and comics took great pains to highlight as tragic.

And while it is true that there have been world leaders who have had successful reigns despite taking power as a pre-teen or teenager, the closest to those rulers in ATLA is Azula, who showcases, among other things, what tends to happen more often than not when you put too much pressure on children to rule, and is a prima facie case for why Iroh, and not Zuko, should have taken the throne at the end of the war.

“Ok, ok, you have some good points, but don’t you remember how Iroh all but said during Sozin’s Comet that he could not take the throne, or even confront Ozai in the case that Aang was missing, since no one trusts him in a position of power except for the White Lotus and the Gaang? So even if Iroh is the most qualified man for the throne, he was right to not take it since the sight of the Dragon of the West on the throne is liable to cause people in the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom to start another war, or at least launch terrorist attacks, to get him off it.”

Iroh’s point about how no one outside of the White Lotus and the Gaang trusts him in a position of power after decades of war mongering makes sense on the surface, but when you dig deeper, it makes no sense at all.

For Iroh, despite refusing the mantle of Fire Lord, is still in a position of great power: Grand Lotus of the White Lotus, a secret, world-spanning, information gathering organization that is made up of some of the most powerful leaders and benders in the world. 

An organization that not only mobilized within a few short weeks to reconquer Ba Sing Se during Sozin’s Comet, but also became Avatar’s version of UN Peacekeepers under Iroh’s leadership.

(Legacy of the Fire Nation all but says the White Lotus starts taking a more active role in the world while Iroh is still an active Grand Lotus. In fact, Xai Bau starts the Red Lotus in response to this change, with Iroh not only being aware of the Red Lotus’ existence, but also not understanding why taking a more active role is a betrayal of the White Lotus’ anarchist roots.)

Like outside the Avatars and other world leaders, Iroh is one of the most powerful people in the world. And yet, despite operating a tea shop in Ba Sing Se under his real name post-war, there is never indication that people attack him for assuming such a position of power, let alone for his past.

Not to mention, Iroh at times becomes interim Fire Lord for weeks on end with actual power (ex. Iroh created National Tea Appreciation Day when he was interim Fire Lord during the search for Ursa), and even at times actively plays a role in international affairs, like when he stood in for Zuko during Yu Dao’s inauguration ceremony. And yet, as far as canon is concerned, there is nary a peep from anyone outside of the Fire Nation.

Therefore, Iroh’s excuse that seeing the Dragon of the West in a position of power to influence world affairs again, let alone on the Fire Lord’s throne, is liable to send the rest of the world into a frenzy doesn’t hold up when scrutinized.

So to conclude, Zuko was not emotionally or mentally ready to assume the Fire Lord mantle by the end of the show since his crown prince education was basically non-existent and he still needs to continue growing as a person. Especially since attempting to reform the Fire Nation after the Hundred Year War is a task that even the most experienced and savvy leaders would find challenging.

However, Iroh does have the relevant training and emotional and mental maturity to help guide the Fire Nation during the early post-war years. And even on the surface the world may not stand for him on the throne, considering they are more than fine with him being a Grand Lotus of the White Lotus, or serving as interim Fire Lord, the world, in my opinion, would be more than fine with Iroh on the throne. 

Especially if he makes it clear that he would abdicate once Zuko’s crown prince training is complete and he is emotionally and mentally ready to take the throne.

So the fact that Iroh did not take the throne after the war is quite odd and does not reflect well on someone who is supposed to be wise and loves his surrogate son more than anything in the world.

For if Iroh was truly wise and loved Zuko as much as he, along with the narrative, says he does, why would he abandon his “son” to the metaphorical wolves?

Chapter Text

The debate on who committed war crimes is a debate that has gripped the ATLA fanbase for almost as long as the show has existed considering the show is fundamentally about war and negative effects on all touched by it.

But the fiercest war crimes debates often involve Fire Nation characters, or more specifically, Azula and Iroh. For if we take people’s arguments at face-value, people are interested in seeing what IRL crimes the two fan favorites committed, and what type of punishment would they be subjected to, if any, if they existed in the real world. 

So what is my take on the whole war crimes discourse surrounding Azula and Iroh? 

That they are both war criminals.

For Azula is guilty of war crimes since on top of suggesting, helping plan, and fully intending to carry out a genocide, she also engaged in petrify (her false surrender), the use of child soldiers (Mai and Ty Lee), and knew of and condoned the torture of war prisoners (the Boiling Rock).

However, Azula is a victim of a war crime herself, namely getting turned into a child soldier and general by her absolute sovereign, who also happens to be her father, and so any punishment, assuming ATLA had a war crimes trial after the end of the Hundred Year War instead just Ozai and Azula being locked up due to being Zuko’s prisoners, will take that into account.

Meanwhile, in regards to Iroh, while we don't have anything explicit, he is also most likely guilt of war crimes since it is highly unlikely that he never sat in his father's war council meetings where they talked about how to perpetuate the Southern Waterbender Genocide, as well as torture POWs in the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom.

Not to mention, as a general and crown prince, Iroh is responsible for the actions of his subordinates/subjects. And so, for example, Iroh is responsible for burning Jet's village since the TTRPG confirmed that the Rough Rhinos were under his command when they burned Jet’s village.

https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Rough_Rhinos#cite_note-WSTAG-126-6

However, turning on Zhao, helping Aang and Katara escape Ba Sing Se, and helping reconquer Ba Sing Se would probably lead him to getting a reduced punishment.

Though in my opinion, it is tacky to retire to the city you besieged for 600 days and is home to refugees you created during your decades of warmongering. 

But I think this whole debate on war crimes is a red herring for the real argument on the limits of redeemability.

For in my opinion, people’s arguments about whether or not Azula and/or Iroh are war criminals are often a proxy for people’s opinions on whether or not Azula is redeemable, whether or not Iroh could have ever redeemed himself regardless of the actions he took at the end of the war to help secure peace, and/or whether Iroh’s opinions in regards to Azula are valid.

And I think this whole (covert) discourse on redeemability is pointless since, even if you dislike it, the franchise as a whole essentially says that no one is irredeemable. 

And this is because in TLoK, the direct sequel to ATLA, they redeemed someone who wanted to mutilate all benders (Hiroshi Sato), kids who wanted to help their father bring about the end of humanity even after being told that was his plan (Eska and Desna), a war profiteer and funder of terrorism and fascism along with his main accomplice (Varrick and Zhu Li), and a fucking fascist (Kuvira).

Moreover, outside of Hiroshi, all these people end up with pretty happy endings in which they have, or are fixing their, meaningful relationships and/or have political/economic power.

Eska and Desna become co-leaders of the Northern Water Tribe and are on good terms with not only the rest of the world, but also with the Krew.

Varrick not only regains his company while becoming close allies with the Krew, but also gets to marry Zhu Li in a ceremony attended by world leaders despite mistreating her at best, and at worst abusing her for most of their screen time together. 

Not to mention, he eventually becomes First Man of the United Republic. 

Meanwhile, Zhu Li not only regained her position as Varrick’s right hand man in his company while also becoming close allies with the Krew and having her marriage ceremony attended by world leaders, but also eventually became President of the United Republic.

And finally, Kurvira manages to not only get house arrest in Zaofu, which is basically metalbending paradise, but also is heavily implied to be on the road to fixing all of her relationship with the Beifongs, even though she tried to kill them several times, including her former fiance Baatar Jr.

So to conclude, if you want to argue that someone is or isn't redeemable, I think it is better to focus on their character, and whether or not redeeming them would suit the narrative, instead of arguing whether or not they are war criminals.

Especially since the ATLA world has no equivalent to the Geneva Conventions, and the Avatar is the final arbiter when it comes to international affairs within ATLA’s setting.

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A common argument that people make in order to support their claim that Azula was born evil and/or that Zuko was always a naturally good person was that they were raised in the same household in the same way, and yet, even before Zuko got banished, he had empathy and was generally a decent person while Azula never showed any empathy towards others and was well on the path to becoming the monster she becomes later on in life.

However, in my opinion, this argument fails because its central assumption, that Azula and Zuko were raised the same way, is not true at all.

For even notwithstanding WoG statements by Bryke all but saying Azula is a product of nurture, not nature, the comics not only show that Azula and Zuko were not raised the same, but also explains why that is the case.

This is because Azula and Zuko were literally conceived to help Iroh's line's continued dominance from Azulon's POV, or to help Ozai gain and maintain power from Ozai's POV. 

However, Zuko appeared to be dud due to lacking the spark while Azula was everything that Ozai wished for in a child. So Ozai put all his efforts into raising her into the perfect conqueror and absolute monarch while essentially neglecting Zuko, only really interacting with him in order to emotionally abuse him for not living up to his standards.

Or in other words, Azula was the golden child while Zuko was the scapegoat, meaning that Ozai not only encouraged anti-social behavior in Azula, but also emotionally abused Zuko, often in front of Azula, whenever Zuko tried to act in a prosocial fashion.

Meanwhile, Zuko’s status as Ozai’s scapegoat meant that it was easier for Ursa, and later Iroh, to influence him down a better path since Ozai wasn't invested in him while it was impossible for Ursa due to being a powerless sex slave and Iroh deeming her too under her father’s influence to try.

In fact, Iroh in the Legacy of the Fire Nation all but says that Ozai neglected Zuko and stoked the competition for his favor between Zuko and Azula while at the same time lavishing Azula with “praise” whenever she acted in accordance with his values.

Also, it is implied in the “Zuko is a bastard letter” that Ursa resents Azula for justifying everything the Royal Family did to her since it appeared that, for most of her childhood, Azula was the child of prophecy that led Azulon to find her family and force her to marry Ozai.

“So are you trying to say that how Azula turned out and all of the horrible things she did was not her fault?”

No, because while I was showing how her environment explains her actions and behavior, it does not excuse them. For she was sane when she committed most of her heinous actions, and even when she is insane, the whole existence of “Ursa” shows that what knows what she is doing is wrong.

In fact, I think it reflects poorly on Zuko and Aang that they agreed to Azula’s terms in regards to the search for Ursa before having the unmitigated gall to lose custody of her. 

Especially Zuko since he knows how dangerous Azula is and the threat an escaped Azula presents to the post-war order he is supposed to help protect, and yet disregard all this due to his understandable, but selfish, desire to find Mommy, even though a major part of his redemption arc was learning to put the world’s needs over his desire to have a happy and whole family.

Moreover, I think they are idiots for not dropping everything to bring her in, have a moral imperative to arrest and/or stop Azula again, and would deserve all the scorn in the world if she hurts anyone permanently before they can stop her for good.

“Come on, even if your interpretation of the “Zuko is a bastard” letter is correct, Ursa never let her resentment towards Azula and/or her fear of Ozai affect her parenting towards Azula. For she treated Azula the way she treated Zuko. And if she didn’t, it is because she saw Azula’s latent darkness and decided to save the one child who she could save: Zuko.”

Well, I don’t think Ursa parented Zuko the same way that she did Zuko.

For when Zuko threw bread at the turtle ducks in an attempt to emulate Azula, presumably since Ozai would approve of such behavior, despite not hitting innocent animals being something that should be obvious, Ursa took the time to explain to him why that was wrong in a calm manner that was easy for a 11 year old to understand.

Meanwhile, when Azula burns flowers in the Royal Palace gardens in an attempt to get Ursa’s attention since acting violently gets Ozai’s (positive) attention, Ursa tells Azula to respect the flowers, never once paying attention to Azula saying she burned them because they weren’t perfect, or in other words, I am “perfect”, yet why do you not give me (positive) attention while lavishing Zuko with it?

And while Ursa was more than right to punish Azula by sending her to her room after she burns Zuko for snitching on her, there is never any indication that Ursa ever talked to Azula about why burning flowers is wrong, or why burning them because they aren’t perfect is wrong.

Or in another example, when Zuko fails in his impromptu bending display, Ursa immediately reassures him and praises him for his performance while she says nothing to Azula after her perfect performance.

For while I know that Zuko needed more reassurance, not only in that moment, but also in general, since Ozai had it out for Zuko from birth and Azulon is displeased with Zuko at best while Ozai and Azulon are more than happy with their prodigy/eugenics experiment, Azula is not privy to these dynamics, nor should she since she is a 9 year old.

So it appears to a 9 year old Azula that perfection is not enough to get her mother’s attention while Zuko can be a “screw-up” and still get their mother’s attention.

Or how about when she says out loud what is wrong with that child after Azula disparages Azulon and wishes for his death so Ozai can take the throne, even though she knows that Azula is all but parroting Ozai’s words.

For it might seem obvious to readers and a former peasant like Ursa that wishing for your Grandfather to die so your father can gain more power is utterly vile. 

But to a nine year old who has been repeatedly told that such desires are more than ok, and in fact are natural, it seems like from Azula’s POV that Ursa is berating her for no reason other than because something wrong with her notwithstanding her thoughts, like maybe the fact that she is monster….

(Yes, I know we never see Ozai ever directly talk to Azula about his feelings in regards to the line of succession pre-Azulon’s death, but considering the TTRPG says that Ozai made it a point to teach Azula that conquest is all that matters, even though we never see that on screen or on panel, I don’t think it that much of stretch to assume Ozai in private vented his thoughts about Azulon, Iroh, and Lu Ten to Azula.)

And in regards to the argument that Ursa saw Azula’s inner darkness, and therefore rightfully distanced herself from Azula? That is not supported by text.

For it is true that Noriko might have been motivated by self-preservation when she told Azula that, if she was her mother, she was sorry for not loving her enough, it still does not change the fact that an amnesic Ursa knew by looking at Azula’s face and hearing her raving that Azula’s issue was not that she was born evil, but that she never experienced unconditional love and proper guidance from a parent or parental figure.

And during Smoke and Shadow, Ursa expresses her worry about Azula and acts overprotective towards Kiyi because she did not want to lose another daughter on top of acknowledging during her confrontation with Ozai that Azula never had his love, only his approval.

So to conclude, while it doesn’t excuse any of her actions, the truth of the matter is that Azula turned out differently from Zuko because they were raised differently. For Zuko could not live up to Ozai’s standards for what an imperialist, colonizing, absolute monarch should be, and so was discarded by Ozai, thus allowing Ursa, and later Iroh, to be the primary influences in his life.

Meanwhile, Azula was everything that Ozai wanted, and so he poured all his time and attention into her, with Ursa and Iroh being unable to counteract it short of killing or imprisoning him.

So while it may be true that Azula is irredeemable as of current canon, it is because of how she was raised that led to her becoming irredeemable, not because she was born evil.

Chapter Text

A commonly held sentiment in ATLA fandom is the idea that Zuko going out of his way to use his intimate knowledge of the Fire Nation to not only help Katara find the specific person involved in killing her mom, but also not telling Katara how to feel, react, and/or cope when she finally confronts Yon Rha, was the most competent form of reparation and allyship Zuko could have possibly done in regards to Katara.

For a large part of Katara’s character is learning how to be a child again after her mother’s death and her father leaving the Southern Water Tribe to fight in the war forced her to grow up prematurely. 

And while Katara learned how to goof off and not be so serious all the time, Katara would not have been able to fully reclaim her inner child if didn’t allow her inner 8 year old who found their mom's charred remains in their home minutes after she basically sacrificed herself to protect Katara a chance for validation, not matter what form it took. 

For while the end of The Southern Raiders ends with Katara sparring Yon Rha and letting go of her hatred of Zuko, and firebenders in general, before forgiving Zuko, Katara needed to work through her war-induced trauma, even if it was in a toxic and potentially harmful manner.

However, what if Zuko was wrong to help Katara confront Yon Rha not only because it was potentially bad for her, but also because of the broader implications of the whole excursion?

For in regards to the excursion being potentially bad for Katara, even if Katara is more than willing to kill in combat (ex. Katara almost slicing Azula during their battle during The Crossroads of Destiny), it doesn’t mean that Katara isn’t someone who is unnerved by trying to harm other people in a cold-blooded fashion.

For example, while Katara was more than willing to bloodbend Hama when there was no other way to save Aang from Sokka’s sword, she still broke down after Hama pointed out that she was now a bloodbender with no way of ever unlearning the technique.

In fact, it is her breakdown after bloodbending Hama that causes Aang and Sokka to say that going to search for Kya’s killer is a bad idea. For it is not that they don’t think Katara doesn’t deserve to confront Kya’s killer, it is just that they are afraid of what happens if Katara, in the heat of the moment, decides to kill Yon Rha.

For if Katara were to kill Yon Rha, at best it would be another thing that would cause her life-long trauma, and at worst, it might be the catalyst for her becoming some unholy fusion of Jet, in terms the ends justifies the ends, and Azula, in terms of sadism and bending prowess.

(Yes, I think Katara would become a unholy fusion of Jet and Azula if she were ever to snap since Jet and Azula are her main foils, for Jet is who Katara could become if she let her hatred of the Fire Nation justify any action that takes them down in the long run while Azula is what Katara could have become if she let her family trauma drive her actions and engaged in cruelty outside of some snarky comments, as well always bend with an intent to kill.)

But Zuko doesn’t know this because he had only been with the Gaang for a couple of weeks at max and never learned about bloodbending, or the Hama incident, until he went with Katara to try and find Yon Rha.

Meanwhile, in regards to the broader implications of the excursion, if word ever got out that Fire Lord Zuko allowed Katara to directly confront her mother’s killer, who was and is currently Zuko’s subject, you think people in the other nations would think it was a nice story about healing before going on with their day?

Or do you think they would start agitating to directly confront the Fire Nationals directly responsible for killing, maiming, and/or jailing their loved ones? And if so, would Zuko be so gung ho letting those people decide what they would like to do to their oppressors like he did with Katara?

For example, in a world where Jet lived and found out the Rough Rhinos were under Iroh's command when they burned his village and his parents, would Zuko be willing to not only help Jet confront Iroh, but also be ok with whatever Jet chooses to do, even if it meant letting Jet kill Iroh or seriously maim him (ex. crush his hands)?

For the TTRPG confirms that the Rough Rhinos were under Iroh’s command when they burned Jet's village. So Jet is one of Iroh's victims, and yet the show never had Jet confront Iroh about his role in his parents deaths and village's destruction before his death. 

And when those Earth Kingdom soldiers got a hold of Iroh in S1 to make him stand trial, he kept trying to escape before doing so with Zuko's help after Zuko tracked him down.

Not to mention, despite making serious amends, Iroh never faced accountability from those victimized by him, and by virtue of his positions as Azulon's crown prince and as a general of the Fire Nation, has hurt a lot more people than Yon Rha ever did.

Or what about Terra Team wanting to confront Mai and Ty Lee?  

Or the Kyoshi Warriors in the hypothetical world where they don’t quickly befriend Mai and Ty Lee after the war’s end? 

Or the citizens of Omashu wanting to confront Ukano?

Or more generally, what about the legions of Fire Nation soldiers, governors, and prison guards/officers complicit in or actively committing war crimes?

For while I did love how Zuko gave Katara the tools to work through her trauma without pushing her in a direction, I don't know how Zuko would react if you replaced Yon Rha with Iroh, or any one of his other loved ones, and Katara with Jet, or any random Earth Kingdom peasant directly or indirectly victimized by Iroh’s decades of warmongering, or by anyone of his loved one’s actions taken during the war. 

Moreover, I don’t know how political tenable it would be if Zuko allowed victims of the war to confront their victimizers, especially if blood starts to be shed. 

For at best Zuko would face constant uprisings since his subjects would have nothing to lose, and at worst the Hundred Year War would restart again without the Fire Lord’s backing, and this time, the Fire Nationals would not leave any survivors due to fears of retaliation that were proven to be true.

And I don’t think Zuko wants to have to constantly shed blood putting down uprisings or have the Hundred Year War restart again, even if it doesn’t have the backing of the Fire Nation state.

But at the same time, if he denies victims of the war a chance to confront their victimizers, it would make him look like a hypocrite at best, and thus make rebuilding international relations post-war even harder, or at worst, cause the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe masses to commit acts of terrorism up to restarting the Hundred Year War without state backing in a desire to get same closure and justice that Katara did.

So to conclude, while Zuko helping Katara find and confront Yon Rha seemed like a good idea, it was not, even if everything turned out ok in the end.

For allowing Katara to confront Yon Rha could have pushed her down a very dark road permanently. 

And if word ever got out if that he allowed Katara to confront Yon Rha the way she did, he would either be forced to allow other victims of the war to confront their Fire Nation victimizers or become a hypocrite due to refusing, with both avenues more likely than not leading to terrorism and destabilization of international politics.

So maybe Zuko was wrong to help Katara confront Yon Rha, and it is only due to Katara’s sheer strength of character and dumb luck that nothing bad came out of the incident.

Chapter Text

Two popular headcanons in the ATLA fandom is that (1) Ozai was directly responsible for killing Lu Ten and (2) that Azulon wanted Iroh to adopt Zuko to be his heir after Lu Ten’s death.

For in regards to (1), the idea is that Ozai, realizing that if Iroh and Lu Ten conqueror Ba Sing Se and functionally end the war, he will never have a chance to a make a bid for the throne, let alone a successful one, works with his spy contacts, a fraction loyal to him, and/or the Earth Kingdom to betray Lu Ten’s unit’s location so that they get ambushed, hoping that Iroh’s resulting grief will cause him to withdraw, and thus not only lower his popularity among the Fire Nation masses and nobility, but also make Azulon realize that he is the superior heir, especially since he has two living heirs unlike Iroh.

For it is repeatedly shown in the show that Ozai does not care about his family or nation, but instead only cares about himself and how he can best serve his insatiable need for self-aggrandizement. And it is all but said that Azula gets her cunning and manipulation skills from her old man.

So by having Ozai be directly tied to Lu Ten’s death, it not only shows how utterly selfish Ozai is, but also shows how skilled he is in terms of political maneuvering.

Or in other words, it enhances the symbolism of Ozai being the physical manifestation of how the war has twisted the Fire Nation Royal Family and the Fire Nation into an out of control flame liable to burn the entire world down even if it means they get reduced to ashes as well.

That and it helps explain why Azula was prepared to give a performance the same day that word of Lu Ten’s death reached the palace: because Ozai already had word that his plot was successful before official word reached the palace, and so prepared Azula so he could make his bid for the throne once word reached Azulon.

Meanwhile, in regards to (2), this headcanon came about since it doesn’t make sense that Azulon, who is not senile and is supposed to be a political genius, would not only kill his only remaining male second generation heir, and thus leave his dynasty at risk of collapsing due to a bad flu season or a successful terrorist attack on top having his only second generation heir be a 9 year old female, but also futher traumize his favored child by essentially having his beloved nephew be killed in cold-blood due to his brother’s callous request.

(Yes, Azulon is a political genius considering he ruled for over 75 years without facing any real opposition to his rule, as far as we know, despite fighting an increasingly bloody war for the entirety of it.)

So people try to fix this inconsistency by having Azulon tell Ozai during their conversation after Azula and Zuko’s performances that he intended for Iroh to adopt Ozai’s first-born son since he knew that it would eat Ozai up to have his unfavored child supplant him in the line of succession

(Considering Ozai would have thrown Zuko out as a newborn if not for the Fire Sages and Ursa pleading with him, and Ozai constantly berating Zuko for his lack of bending prowess while at the same constantly praising Azula for her bending prowess, it is safe to assume Azulon knew that Zuko was Ozai’s unfavored child.)

That and he could tell Ozai to make more heirs with Ursa while he could not do the same with Iroh due to Iroh lacking a spouse, and Azulon (presumably) not wanting his favored child to enter a loveless marriage to make more babies, especially at his advanced age.

But Azulon’s order got twisted by Azula, who either did so because she loved tormenting Zuko, only to have it work out in Ozai’s favor when Ursa overheard Azula and earnestly believed her, or because Azula was in cahoots with Ozai, who knew that the only way he would ever get his hands on Ursa’s OP poison was by making her think that Zuko’s life was in danger without rousing her suspicions if he directly told her that, with the latter scenario being supported by Azula’s devious smirk after she told Ursa about Azulon’s order to kill Zuko.

Also, this headcanon serves to show the depths of Ozai’s, or in the latter scenario, Ozai and Azula’s cunning and depravity since in the former scenario, Ozai was able to use his daughter’s taunting in order to eliminate Azulon despite not planning to do so. 

While in the latter scenario, it shows how Ozai and Azula’s disregard for family, as well as their ability to feign innocence when needed and make and enact intricate plans, allows them to achieve their goal of acquiring power no matter how many lives they have to ruin or put at risk.

However, I disagree with both headcanons since I think they not only dilute the messages the show was trying to send, but also because they are steeped in ableism and post hoc retconning.

For in regards to (1), I think the headcanon takes away from Iroh's redemption since it was him realizing, among other things, that he had been inflicting on Earth Kingdom families for decades the same pain and emotional trauma that the EK soldiers who killed Lu Ten defending their homes inflicted on him that led him to change.

So if Ozai was the one responsible for Lu Ten’s death, Lu Ten’s death would not longer be Iroh facing karmic justice for ripping apart Earth Kingdom families for decades, but instead Iroh failing to engage to in (enough) court politics, as well as failing to recognize that Ozai’s resentment and lust for power made him more dangerous than any enemy he ever faced in combat.

Moreover, I think (1) takes away from one of Avatar’s main messages, that the Fire Nation, or more specifically Ozai, is not the source of all tragedy and evil in the world. For by having one of the main driving tragedies of the show be mastermined by Ozai, it makes it seem like all conflict in the show is caused by Ozai, which I don’t think was supposed to be the case considering the existence of Long Feng, the Dai Li, and Hama, among others.

Meanwhile, in regards to (2), just like fans try to downplay Iroh and Zuko's past villainous actions due to their redemption arcs causing a halo effect, fans evaluate characters not based on their actions, but instead based on how well they treated Iroh and/or Zuko.

For example, Katara gets a lot of hate for being harsh and “mean” towards Zuko until she forgives him at the end of The Southern Raiders even though she arguably treated him a lot better than he deserved to be treated considering he spent most of the last year trying to jail and/or kidnap them and helped Azula conqueror Ba Sing Se and kill Aang after she opened up to him under the catacombs.

So in regards to Azulon, since he was “nice” to Iroh, fans try to make it so that instead of trying to have Iroh’s beloved nephew killed in order to punish Ozai and/or to eliminate a weakling, Azulon instead was going reward Zuko, who was born with a golden heart, by making him Iroh’s new son, as well help Iroh heal by allowing Zuko to serve as his surrogate son.

Especially since he knew that Zuko already had the qualities needed to be a “good” Fire Lord, and so only needed to get away from his abusive father and sister to reach his full potential.

And yes, Azulon knew that Ozai and Azula were abusing Zuko, that they were inherently vile beings who should never be anywhere near the throne, and that it was due to said abuse that Zuko was languishing behind Azula. 

This even though Avatar is a franchise that states multiple times that nurture, not nature, is why people do evil in their universe.

(Often in this genre of fics/headcanons, Ozai and/or Azula are deliberately sabotaging Zuko, and yet Zuko is not only still above average for his age, but also has moments of brilliance that are often covered up by Ozai, but don’t go unnoticed by Azulon.)

In fact, the only reason why Azulon didn’t get rid of them is due to a combination of fearing bad optics and out of a misplaced sense of familiar affection towards them.

However, I dislike it because it only exists as way to make Azulon seem better than he was since he was “nice” Iroh, a fan favorite, to show that Ozai and/or Azula are so inherently vile that even Azulon recognized them for what they are, and that Zuko was always meant to be Fire Lord.

And this is because Azulon himself is responsible for not only perpetuating the cycle of abuse within his family, but also for perpetuating the war for most of its existence.

For just like his father favored him over another family member, Azulon favored Iroh over Ozai to the point that despite Ozai clearly showing behavioral problems either from being born with a low-empathy personality disorder or due to being neglected by both his father and brother, Azulon ignored them.

Just like his father abused him by raising him to be a callous, genocidal warlord who cared for little except for conquest and bending strength, he abused his children by raising them in the same fashion. 

In fact, it was Azulon who not prosecuted the war for 75 years, but also committed the Southern Water Tribe Genocide, a genocide so through and complete that by the time Katara released Aang from the iceberg, there were only four Southern Waterbenders alive (Katara, Hama, Sika, and Siru), with only one of them having any knowledge of Southern-style waterbending.

It was Azulon who sought to find Ursa and marry her to Ozai for the sole purpose of producing firebenders that were prophesied to ensure that his line would continue to rule the Fire Nation for centuries.

And despite more likely than not being aware of how Ozai was emotionally abusing his kids, for even Iroh, who was often not at home due to fighting in the war, was aware of the dynamics present in the Ozai-Ursa household, did nothing about it despite being the only person in the Fire Nation outside of maybe Iroh and Lu Ten with the status and power to check Ozai.

So no, I don’t think Azulon ever wanted Iroh to adopt Zuko, and I think he earnestly ordered Ozai to kill Zuko in order to essentially kick Ozai, his scapegoat, out of the royal family without actually having to do so.

For if Ozai refused to kill his innocent son, Azulon could then banish Ozai by saying he refused to comply with the Fire Lord’s orders. 

But if Ozai followed his orders and killed Zuko, then Azulon could banish Ozai since what he was telling Ozai was just a secret test of character to see just how power hungry Ozai was, a test that Ozai obviously failed in this scenario.

So in either scenario, Azulon gets rid of his hated son without actually having to state his real reason for doing so: because he hates Ozai.

Like if we are being honest, it is no-win scenario for Ozai, who only managed to come out ahead due to Ursa unexpectedly being a master poisoner, kinda of like how Zuko’s banishment was meant to be a no-win scenario for Zuko since its real purpose was to eliminate his claim to the throne for good without Ozai having to outright say it, only for Zuko to come out ahead by first “killing” Aang, and then by becoming allies with Aang, both unexpected outcomes from Ozai’s POV when he first issued the banishment.

So to conclude, the reason why I disagree with the “Ozai killed Lu Ten” headcanon is because I think it increases Ozai’s role in the story too much by making him directly or indirectly tied to most of the tragic events in the setting, when the existence of characters like Hama and Long Feng show that was not meant to be the case.

Meanwhile, I disagree with the “Azulon wanted Iroh to adopt Zuko” headcanon because it simultaneously assumes that Azulon by his advanced age had any shred of decency while also painting Ozai and Azula as uniquely bad, when the reality is that Azulon by his old age is one of the most vile characters in the whole franchise and is a huge reason for why Ozai and Azula turned out the way they did due to perpetuating the cycle of abuse.

Chapter Text

On the surface, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis was nothing but a success, both in the short and long-term. For allowing Yu Dao and the oldest Fire Nation colonies self-determination not only prevented ethnic cleansing and the Hundred Year from restarting, but also led to the creation of the United Republic as well.

A place that not only serves as the dominant economic and cultural hub in the world, but also eventually became a laboratory of democracy as well, being the first place in ATLA’s modern history to elect its leader by way of popular vote.

However, on closer inspection, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis was not the complete success that the ATLA franchise frames it as, but in fact one of its biggest mistakes due to three, discrete, but interrelated, reasons.

First, the fact that the people pushing for self-determination in Yu Dao were more likely than not representative of the greater population, and that push for self-determination in-universe is seeped in racist, pro-colonist rhetoric. 

Second, the fact that the Yu Dao crisis was solved by “self-determination” sent several wrong messages that also led to severe consequences during Korra’s era.  

Third, the fact that there is no way that the Fire Nation could have paid the Earth Kingdom anywhere near the true value of the oldest colonies, thus retarding the Earth Kingdom’s ability to rebuild after the war, and is partially why the Earth Kingdom is in such a sorry state during Korra’s era.

In regards to the first point, Kori and her family and close friends are not representative of the entire Yu Dao population, being instead a minority of the population in which their proximity to political and/or economic power shielded them from the burnt of the Fire Nation’s tyranny.

And while they have a good point about how the Harmony Restoration Movement would lead to ethnic cleansing by forcing mixing families to choose between leaving their long-time homes and having their families broken apart, they are not the only people whose opinions matter when it comes to the oldest colonies.

This is because, even if The Search and related material gloss over it, Yu Dao, like the rest of the oldest colonies, have a massive Earth Kingdomer population, one that more or less serves an underclass exploited by Fire Nationals.

Yet, despite having ample chances to do so, none of the Gaang or Kori and her allies ever ask such people for what should be done in regards to Yu Dao’s future.

This, even though they would likely have different opinions than Zuko, Kori, and like minded people about how Yu Dao’s future should go after learning about the problems with the Harmony Restoration Movement in its current form.

Likewise, while there are non-Yu Dao Earth Kingdomers who do get to express their opinion on what should happen with the oldest colonies, they never get a chance to express what should happen after being presented with the reality that the Harmony Restoration Movement in its current form would result in ethnic cleansing, not even Kuei, at least not before Aang all but forces Kuei to accept Yu Dao has the “right” to self-determination.

(No, not every group that claims to be a distinct “nation” has a right to self-determination. For if that was the case, groups like white nationalists or Christian nationalists in the United States would have the right to self-determination, and I don’t think anyone but a fringe minority believes that to be true.)

But the fact that self-determination in Yu Dao was mostly decided by a small, unrepresentative portion of the population is made worse by the fact that it is steeped in racist, pro-colonialism rhetoric.

This is because Zuko, after Katara pointed out that there is massive socioeconomic inequality between the Fire Nationals and Earth Kingdomers, argues in part to keep the oldest colonies since they were better off before the Fire Nation colonized them, which is appalling for in- and out-of-universe reasons.

For in-universe, why would the (supposedly) former imperialist who got un-indoctrinated by spending months as a refugee witnessing first hand the Fire Nation’s “greatness,” and got painfully rejected by an Earth Kingdom village he saved because he was part of the family responsible for their suffering, express such sentiments?

Like what happened to the pensive, self-reflective person, one who is aware of his place in history and is hell bent on undoing all the suffering he and his people have wrought upon the world, that Zuko became post-Day of Black Sun?

Meanwhile, out-of-universe, if you were to switch out Zuko's words with some modern places, it would sound like something out of /pol.

For modern racists and/or imperialist apologists justify Western settler colonialism in part by saying that without their “intervention”, the places they colonized would have remained underdeveloped.

Like, is it that hard to see the parallel between your average /pol shitposter saying something like, “Before the West colonized them, the shitskins only had huts and sticks.” and Zuko saying, “Many of the Fire Nation families here immigrated over a hundred years ago, when Yu Dao was just a tiny village at the bottom of a valley.”?

In regards to the second point, the fact that the Yu Dao crisis was solved by “self-determination” sent several wrong messages, both in-universe and out of it, that also led to severe consequences during Korra’s era.

For by having self-determination in the oldest Fire Nation colonies be driven by Fire Nationals and those related to or allied with them without taking into consideration the vast Earth Kingdom underclass, as well the opinion of the rest of the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation suffered little to no consequences for starting the Hundred Year War, and in fact essentially won the War.

This is because the Fire Nation is modeled after Imperial Japan, and just like Imperial Japan had reasons for engaging in colonialism and/or imperialism beyond paternalistic notions of spreading their “greatness,” the Fire Nation likely had other, less “benevolent” reasons for waging the Hundred Year War as well.

For imagine you are a part of Fire Lord Sozin’s governing council in the lead up to the Hundred Year War and you are discussing the benefits of waging the Hundred Year War.

Would you tell him that the Fire Nation would be doing the world a great service by spreading its greatness? 

Or would you tell him that the Fire Nation would be able to achieve several economic and military goals vital to the Fire Nation’s continued existence, at least in its current form?

Or more specifically, by engaging in settler colonialism and imperialism, Sozin would be able to: (1) keep the Fire Nation industrializing at a smooth pace by obtaining cheap and/or slave labor, cheap goods, free land, and easier access to fossil fuels; (2) quell growing class tensions that are endemic to industrial capitalism; (3) divert attention from growing calls from the growing middle class to democratize the Fire Nation, as well limit or eliminate the privileges of the nobility; (4) and make sure their economic and military rivals in the Earth Kingdom would never be able to pose a threat to the Fire Nation again.

Now, imagine you are an advisor as part of Fire Lord Izumi’s governing council and you are preparing a report detailing the Fire Nation’s economic and military power at the moment.

What would it say? That the Fire Nation is a defeated nation-state unable or unwilling to flex its muscles and forced by its leadership to continue paying reparations for the foreseeable future?

Or that the Fire Nation is in amazing shape because: (1) the dominant economic, military, and cultural power in the world is a client state of the Fire Nation; (2) thanks in large part to the ill-gotten gains it got from the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation is now a, or close to becoming, an advanced industrial state; (3) the Earth Federation is highly unlikely to rival the Fire Nation’s economic or military power for the foreseeable future; (4) and as a result of all this, the Royal Family’s, and by proxy the nobility’s, hold on power is secure for the foreseeable future?

So can anyone with a straight face say that the Fire Nation did not win the Hundred Year War?

No, and that is bad because it sends the message that all nation-states have to do to redeem themselves for engaging in settler colonialism and genocide is pay reparations and punish just a handful of leaders, and all is forgiven.

Moreover, it is bad because it sends the message that if you want more land, labor, and resources, just send your citizens to the area you desire and have some of them reproduce with the local population before then demanding self-determination after sufficient time has passed.

Hence, why I think the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis is responsible for the rise of the Earth Empire.

This is because while Kuvira might have been motivated by parental abandonment issues, it doesn’t explain why Earth Empire’s rank and file support her, or why the Earth Empire and those who support its ideology remain an ongoing problem, even after Kurivira publicly repudiates her previous actions and ideology.

But growing up learning about how the United Republic was created does. 

Or more specifically, learning how the Fire Nation managed to avoid any real consequences for waging the Hundred Year War while essentially managing to keep its colonies thanks your ruler, who was put back on the throne in part thanks to the infamous General Iroh, kowtowing to the supposedly now good Fire Lord Zuko and the Avatar, who is supposed to be a neutral arbiter, but seems be especially biased towards the Fire Nation.

Especially once you consider his steadyfast friendship with not only Fire Lord Zuko, but also General Iroh, (Fire) Lady Mai, and Lady Ty Lee as well.

(No, I don’t think the average Earth Kingdomer would care that Mai and Ty Lee were essentially forced to join Azula’s small, elite team.)

(Especially since their “partnership” with Azula ended with Ba Sing Se failing, and especially since they eventually found the strength to stand up to her when their loved ones were in danger, suggesting that they could have stood up to Azula at any point, but didn’t because Earth Kingdomer lives weren’t important enough to them.)

Finally, in regards to the third point, if you look at the where the United Republic is located, combined with the fact that the oldest Fire Nation colonies were home to hundreds, if not millions, of people, the value of the oldest colonies probably would be worth hundreds of billions, if not trillions of dollars, in in real life money today.

Especially once one took into account all the untapped resources such as iron mines and the fact that the area served as the Earth Kingdom’s southeastern waterport.

And even though canon such as the TTRPG says that the Fire Nation paid the Earth Kingdom for the loss of the oldest colonies, unless the Fire Nation was impossibly wealthy, there was no way they could pay the equivalent of several hundred billion, if not trillions of dollars, to the Earth Kingdom.

At least not without inciting a massive rebellion considering how many people and groups tried killing Zuko in the early years after the war.

This, even though the Fire Nation essentially got unpunished for the War, save for having to pay reparations, having its colonists in the newer colonies move back to homeland, and having to give up direct political control of the oldest colonies.

Hence, why it is likely that regardless of whatever the Fire Nation paid the Earth Kingdom, it was nowhere near the true value of the oldest colonies, and why the Earth Kingdom is in terrible shape during Korra’s era, at least partially that is.

For imagine how much easier it would have been for the Earth Kingdom to rebuild and modernize if they didn’t lose billions, if not trillions of dollars, worth of land, resources, and taxpayers and failed to get fair market value back?

“Ok, you make some good points about the resolution of the Yu Dao Crisis wasn’t as cracked up as it seemed to be. But how could Aang, Zuko, and Kuei have come up with a different solution to the Yu Dao crisis, and more generally, the issue of the oldest colonies, without committing ethnic cleansing, or allowing the oldest colonies to remain a part of the Fire Nation?”

By giving Yu Dao back to the Earth Kingdom while at the same time granting the Fire Nationals local control.

Or in other words, in a system akin to China’s old tributary system in which the oldest colonies recognized Kuei as their ruler, paid taxes to Ba Sing Se, and provided troops for the Earth Kingdom Army in exchange for political autonomy.

That way you don't get the issues associated with forcing people to leave their homes, even if they are descendants of colonizers, and you don't have the Fire Nation essentially win the Hundred Year War by having the Fire National-dominated oldest colonies declare independence and become a client state of the Fire Nation.

Moreover, the above solution still results in what would have become the United Republic becoming an economic and cultural powerhouse.

For if the territory was back in Earth Kingdom hands, considering their inability to project real force outside of Ba Sing Se, Kuei and Hou Ting would not have cared that much what happened in the former oldest colonies. Thus, the locals in charge of the oldest colonies would have more or less the same autonomy that the United Republic has in canon. 

And this, in combination with the fact that the oldest colonies would still be located in a highly desirable location with untapped resources and is a place where people from the Four Nations are able to work and live together in harmony, means that the oldest colonies would still become a hub of industry.

In addition, the fact that the Earth Kingdom would be able to get tax revenue from the equivalent of the United Republic, along with having a successful model of governance that isn’t a monarchy in its midst, might not only help the Earth Kingdom develop more than it did in canon, but also prevent the downfall of Hou Ting/rise of Kurvira as well. 

Especially since there won't be decades worth of resentment towards the Avatar and/or the Fire Nation due to Kuei "agreeing" to grant Yu Dao and the other oldest colonies independence.

Furthermore, you avoid having Zuko forget about his experiences and spout racist and pro-imperialist sentiments akin to those said by in real life racists and imperialism apologists to justify letting Fire Nationals and their close friends and family determine the future of the oldest colonies while ignoring the plight of the Earth Kingdomer underclass.

“Ok, maybe what you said makes sense, but if the Earth Kingdom is as pissed about the Fire Nation’s colonialism as you make them out to be, why wouldn't they treat the former Fire National colonialists terribly, even if they are citizens of the Earth Kingdom in your scenario?”

“Like, what is keeping the Earth Kingdom from engaging in state sanctioned murder of the Fire Nation colonists and their families, or expropriating all of their property and wealth, even if they sign agreements promising not to do so?”

Good point, but thankfully, unlike the real world, there exists a figure with the power to ensure that the rights of new Earth Kingdom citizens are protected: the Avatar.

Moreover, beyond the fact that Aang can protect the new Earth Kingdom citizens by himself, Zuko can ensure that the former Fire Nationals are protected by taking measures such as conditioning reparations on making sure the rights of the former Fire Nationals aren’t trampled on.

“Ok, but what about the Fire Nationals pissed about losing absolutely everything they thought they had gained after a hundred years of war? The Fire Nation is not a defeated nation; it only lost due to a coup d’etat led by Zuko. So it seems like letting the Earth Kingdom absorb the oldest colonies, even if the rights of the former Fire Nationals are protected, might be enough to lead to an open rebellion, or at least more resistance to Zuko’s rule.”

The only reason why Zuko didn’t face an outright rebellion in canon, even after Azula escaped with her bending intact, was because everyone knows that the moment Zuko is in trouble, Aang and/or the White Lotus will bail him out.

(In my opinion, if destroying Zuko’s regime and slaughtering his Fire Nation allies and supporters wouldn’t result in Aang and/or the White Lotus hunting her down like a wild animal, Azula would have done so.)

(For if not, why would the TTRPG say that she is trying to unlock the power of dangerous spirits to support her goal of retaking the throne and restarting the War when she could have killed Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee, for example, several times over?)

So, even if they might complain about it, and more people might try assassinating him, it is not going to lead to any more resistance beyond more assassination attempts.

Especially since there is no other viable candidate for the throne that isn’t insane, de-bended and in jail, or doesn’t share Zuko’s views.

“Ok, but isn't your proposed tributary system just as radical, if not more than, as Aang, Zuko, and Kuei coming up with self-determination in order to resolve the Yu Dao crisis in canon? Like, why would Kuei, an absolute monarch, be ok with any of his subjects not being under his direct command?”

No, because the existence of Omashu, with Bumi being recognized as its king and having wide latitude in regards to governing the city, shows that not only is it viable for the Earth Kingdom to adopt an tributary system in regards to the oldest colonies, but also that it has already does so in practice as well.

Moreover, considering there hasn’t been any material released yet that states Kuei decided to exercise more control over Omashu and/or dethrone Bumi, Kuei would be more than fine with having his subjects having wide political and economic freedom so long as they ultimately pledge their loyalty to him.

“The Earth Kingdom adopting a tributary system in regards to the oldest colonies would make sense, if the Earth Kingdom was an actual functioning state. Because the early post-Hundred Year War Earth Kingdom wasn't close to a single cohesive state with a strong central authority, one that could consolidate the wealth present in the oldest colonies.”

“In fact, if the oldest colonies were returned to the Earth Kingdom, it is likely the quality of life present in those regions would have never reached the levels present in the United Republic considering how corrupt the Earth Kingdom was.” 

“So, even if is a little fucked, it was ultimately for the better that the Earth Kingdom did not get the oldest colonies back.”

You do realize this is exactly the same logic that in real life racists and imperialism apologists use to justify western imperialism and settler colonialism? 

Or the logic used by Western nation-states in the past to deny their colonies the right to control their own affairs within their own lands?

Moreover, one of the main points behind the tributary system is that the oldest colonies continue to have the political and economic freedom that led to the wealth present in the United Republic in Korra’s time without it potentially being jeopardized by the corrupt and bumbling Earth Kingdom state meddling in their affairs.

And besides, whose not to say that the oldest colonies staying with the Earth Kingdom, with its steady middle class, would not have led to Earth Kingdom becoming a single cohesive state with a strong central authority, one in which the problem of corruption was slowly but surely getting eliminated?

So to conclude, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis did turn out well in the long run, but sent a bad message both in-universe and out of it.

For not only was Sozin proven right that forcibly spreading the Fire Nation’s “greatness” was a good thing, but the canon resolution of the Yu Dao crisis also essentially let the Fire Nation and those allied with them off the hook for waging a century-long war of conquest and genocide.

Moreover, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis is not only likely one of the main factors behind the sorry state of the Earth Kingdom/Federation in Korra’ era, but also behind Kuivria’s rise as well.

However, the Harmony Restoration’s Movement’s solution to the problem of the oldest colonies is equally bad considering it would have led to ethnic cleansing at best, and the Hundred Year War restarting at worst.

Hence, why I think the Yu Dao crisis should have been resolved by having the Earth Kingdom adopt a tributary system of governance towards the oldest colonies.

A system that keeps the benefits gained from giving the oldest colonies self-determination in canon, avoids the problem of the Fire Nation essentially winning the Hundred Year War, avoids mass violence, and gives the Earth Kingdom a real chance at developing.

Or in other words, a fair and equitable solution that allows for true justice in light of the Fire Nation’s crimes.

Chapter Text

It is a commonly held belief in ATLA fandom that some combination of Sozin, Azulon, Ozai, and/or Azula have ASPD since there is no good explanation for the way that they treat their “loved ones”, their subjects, and the world other than them being utterly incapable of feeling empathy for others.

And while I do admit that reading Sozin, Azulon, Ozai, and/or Azula as suffering from ASPD is a perfectly acceptable and well-supported by canon, I personally think they shouldn’t be written as suffering from ASPD because there are three, story-based reasons for not doing so.

Or more specifically, if Sozin, Azulon, Ozai and Azula aren’t written as suffering from ASPD, (1) it strengthens their ability to serve as character foils, (2) allows there to be a better reason for why the Fire Nation waged the Hundred Year War, as well allow for more interesting stories to be told of Zuko and his descendants reforming the Fire Nation, and (3) the franchise’s stance on the nature versus nurture debate would be kept in tact.

This is because, in regards to point (1), Sozin, Azulon, Ozai, and Azula not only serve as character foils to members of their family, but also other people in the other nations as well.

And the four Fire Nation royals serving as character foils not only enhances Avatar’s characterization, but also plays an important role in the narrative as well.

For example, one of the key parallels in ATLA is that between Zuko and Sozin, or more generally, their relationships with their respective Avatar over time.

(Yes, I do think Roku-Sozin are meant to be paralleled with Aang-Zuko since I don't think it was a mistake that Zuko and Aang learned about Roku and Sozin's past in the same episode.)

(Or that one of the last scenes in the show has Fire Lord Zuko at his coronation have Aang by his side not just as the Avatar, but also as his friend as well as evidenced by their hug just before Zuko got crowned.)

(Or that both Sozin and Zuko were given multiple, unearned chances by their respective Avatars to do better.)

This is because, despite growing up best friends with the Avatar, knowing true firebending, and growing up in a mostly peaceful world, Sozin’s lust for power and desire to spread the Fire Nation’s “greatness” caused him to forsake balance, which resulted in him dying a bitter, regretful old man who killed his best friend so he could start a genocidal war of conquest.

Meanwhile, despite only knowing rage-based firebending, growing up in a world at war, and being raised to believe that the Avatar was his nation’s sworn enemy, Zuko eventually rejected Sozin’s path and chose to follow Aang and help him restore balance.

And as a result of his strength of character, Zuko will more likely than not die a happy, old man, one who not only helped the world heal, but also managed to become best friends with Aang, despite everything that transpired between them during the first couple of months they knew each other.

Another key parallel is that between not only Zuko and Azula, but also Azula and Katara as well.

For in Zuko’s case, Azula serves as a reminder of what could have happened to Zuko if he never managed to (inadvertently) get out of Ozai’s thumb and eventually reject him for good.

Or more specifically, a conqueror with all the physical and political power in the world, but eventually goes mad since they have no one to share it with due to alienating everyone in their quest for power and Ozai’s approval.

Meanwhile, Azula serves as a reminder of what Katara could have become if she used her family trauma as justification to become an unrepentant monster.

That and if Katara was raised without love and taught that empathy was weakness, not a strength.

For they are both powerful benders, daughters of their nation’s respective heads of state, have hot-headed older bros who are swordsmen, trained under the same master, and whose (final) girlfriends are warriors.

Moreover, they have mother issues related to their missing mothers and serve as the emotional center of their groups, though Katara’s stays together while Azula’s fails apart due to Katara being able to love her companions while Azula is only capable of using fear to keep her companions in line.

But beyond the obvious parallels, there are also interesting parallels between Ozai and Hakoda, Iroh and Azula, and Ozai and Zuko.

This is because in the case of Ozai and Hakoda, they have dead or presumed to be dead wives, daughters who are bending prodigies, sons who wanted nothing more than to make them proud, and are elite warriors.

However, due to a combination of the cycle of abuse and his insatiable lust for power, Ozai constantly pushed his children and pitted them against each other, resulting in him losing the War and his freedom as one of his children went insane while the other betrayed him after realizing he had nothing of value to offer to them or the world.

Meanwhile, Hakoda was a supportive and loving father who taught his kids the value of family and friendship, and as result, he managed to win the War because his kids were able to work together and support each other and their friends.

In regards to Iroh and Azula, even though on the surface they don’t seem to share that much in common, especially since their personalities are different, they not only are very similar people, but also serve as direct foils to each other.

For they were both brilliant military strategists and tacticians with hot headed brothers, brothers who grew up in their shadows due to them not being able to keep up with their psychotic fathers’ expectations while they easily met them, and thus “thrived.”

They were the favored children of genocidal warlords, in addition to being heavily sheltered and coddled bending prodigies who came up with several, new firebending techniques.

They have a tendency to manipulate and lie to those around them, were complicit in the Fire Nation’s war crimes, and killed people in combat.

(Yes, Iroh is complicit in the Fire Nation’s war crimes. This is because, beyond the fact that the TTRPG confirms he was the Rough Rhinos’ commander when they burned Jet’s village, he was a leading general and crown prince for several decades.)

(Moreover, it is highly unlikely he never sat in his father’s war council meetings, or was unaware of stuff like the Southern Raids, or what happened to the captured Southern Waterbenders.)

(Especially since the TTRPG implies he learned lightning redirection from observing waterbenders before Lu Ten’s death, and so, unless he met Foggy Swamp Tribe Waterbenders, he either participated in the Southern Raids or observed the captured Southern Waterbenders since the North hadn’t seen Fire Nation soldiers in eighty-five years.)

(Also, in my opinion, post-redemption Iroh is a liar and manipulator, even if it is for a good cause.)

(For he lied to Zuko and his crew about his true allegiances, hid the fact that he was a member of the White Lotus, and tried manipulating Zuko to turn into an outright traitor in the Catacombs, with the last point being really egregious in my opinion.)

(This is because he hadn’t done anything to challenge Zuko’s worldview, or help him see past it, instead trying to rely on his personal connection with Zuko.)

And they not only conquered, or tried conquering, Ba Sing Se, but also lost everything in their quests to fulfill their forefathers’ vile dreams.

However, partially due to his strength of character, and partially due to having more freedom and sanity, Iroh was able to use him hitting rock bottom to reflect and grow as a person before dedicating the rest of his life and afterlife to helping restore and maintain balance.

Meanwhile, as of current canon, Azula is incapable or unwilling to engage in self-reflection, remaining essentially the same person she was before her downfall, though much more dangerous as she has not only grown in power, but is now trying to unleash dark spirits so she can take down her brother’s regime so she can retake the throne and restart the Hundred Year War.

Finally, in regards to Ozai and Zuko, it is pretty obvious from the way adult Zuko looks like Ozai, Zuko’s initial aggressive bending style, the fact that they are both hot-heads who lived in the shadow of their prodigal siblings and resented them for it, at least until he defected in Zuko’s case, and the fact they were their father’s unfavored child that they are character foils.

Or in other words, Ozai is what Zuko could have become if he never got out of his father’s thumb, didn’t have positive influences like Ursa and (post-redemption) Iroh, and let his hate and desire for his father’s love warp him into a monster, one who continued the cycle of abuse and War in order to fill the gaping hole in his heart caused by a lack of parental love.

I could go on, but the point is that Sozin, Azulon, Ozai, and Azula play important roles as character foils to several of the main characters, not only strengthening their characterization, but also the narrative as a whole.

However, if they are written as having ASPD, their ability to serve as character foils is severely weakened, not only weakening the characterization of several characters, but also ATLA’s narrative as a whole as well.

For if Sozin has ASPD, then the parallel between the Sozin-Roku and Zuko-Aang relationship is lost, or at least severely weakened, since Sozin becoming a genocidal tyrant is due to his genetics, and not because he made the wrong choices in life.

If Azulon has ASPD, then a large amount of the differences between his children can be chalked up to Ozai inheriting his ASPD while Iroh did not, instead of the differences in how they were raised, their different life experiences, and strength of character, or lack thereof, explaining why ended becoming the people they did, as well as their eventual fates.

If Ozai has ASPD, then his failures as a man, father, brother, and ruler aren’t due to his upbringing and his weakness of character, but instead due to his genetics.

If Azula has ASPD, then her ability to serve as a dark reflection of what could have been for Zuko and Katara is lost since Azula becoming and staying evil is a result of her genetics, and not her choices.

And more generally, if they have ASPD, then the four of them starting and continuing to wage the Hundred Year War can be chalked up to their genetics and them being in positions of unchecked power, which leads into both my second and third points.

This is because, in regards to point (2), if Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin have ASPD, then the reason why the Fire Nation started the Hundred Year War essentially becomes bad people who were on the throne and/or had power.

Whereas if Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin don’t have ASPD, then the reason why the Hundred Year occurred can be seen as the end result of the Royal Family over the centuries engaging in greater violence, as well as enacting more and more centralization and authoritarian measures, to prevent the spilling of blood, resulting in them losing the plot.

That and the Fire Nation being fundamentally flawed since it was created and maintained through acts of violence.

For the first Fire Lord united the war-torn Fire Islands, thus ushering a prolonged period of peace, by violently bringing the warring clans to heel.

Centuries, if not thousands of years, later, when it became apparent that political conspiracies and economic crises that came about due to nobles clashing with the Fire Lord, as well as the Royal Family fighting amongst itself, periodically weakened the Fire Lord’s authority to the point that bloody civil wars often occurred, Fire Lord Yosor, working with Avatar Szeto, helped stabilize the Fire Nation by implementing political and economic reforms that, among other things, centralized power in the national government’s bureaucracy, which was obviously controlled by the Fire Lord.

However, Yosor and Szeto’s reforms were still not enough to ensure peace, for the clans’ conflict with the crown, which at this point was held by Fire Lord Zoryu, almost led to a civil war in what came to be known as the Camellia-Peony War. Thus, Zoryu began a multi-generational project in which the clans’ power would permanently be dissolved, with the only figure able to wield power being the Fire Lord.

And while it took centuries, Sozin completed the project, which not only ensured, as far as Sozin and the Royal Family were concerned, the Fire Nation’s peace and prosperity, but also enabled Sozin to pursue policies to uplift all of his subjects.

And after seeing the success of the policies he implemented, Sozin then had the bright idea of spreading the Fire Nation’s propensity by any means possible.

For while it was utterly evil and led to an incalculable amount of lost and/or ruined lives, it would make complete sense from his point of view considering one could easily make the argument that life in the Fire Nation got better as the Fire Lord concentrated more and more power in the throne, as well engaged in increasing amounts of violence to keep the peace.

And obviously his descendants, especially Ozai and Azula, would agree with Sozin’s worldview considering he embarked on a historical revision project so widespread and successful that not only was there one place in the Fire Nation by the end of the War that had unbiased historical records, the Dragonbone Catacombs, but also had managed to brainwash the Fire Nation to the point that they thought that Airbending was demonic and that the pacifist Air Nomads were in fact the Air Nation and had a standing army.

So, if the above explanation of why the Fire Nation waged the Hundred Year War is canon, instead of the “bad people on the throne” explanation, then Zuko and his descendants’ task of reforming the Fire Nation likewise becomes that much more complicated, and thus allows for richer storytelling.

For instead having to only make to sure that no one with ASPD inherits the throne or is in a position to wield power, Zuko and his descendants would have to ask hard questions about the nature of the Fire Nation government and why the Fire Nation ended up waging the Hundred Year War, questions like, “Are human rights compatible with absolute monarchies?”, “What do we have to do in order to not only de-Sozinize our people, but also make sure that Sozism and related strains of thought never become popular again?” before then taking action to implement solutions to those questions.

And the process of them trying to come with and implement reforms in order to make sure the Fire Nation never starts another war like the Hundred Year War, as well deal with issues in regards to said reforms as they pop up, would lead to compelling stories.

Especially since there are few things that can provide credible physical challenges to the post-war Gaang or post-Season 4 Krew, and so, in order to tell compelling stories with real stakes, they need non-physical problems or threats they can’t punch their way through.

For example, imagine seeing Zuko trying to implement democratic reforms after realizing that part of the issue was that one man had the power to plunge the world into chaos, struggling to get the nobility and upper classes to accept the lost their privileges and power, as well establish democratic norms in a nation with no known history of democracy?

Or seeing Izumi fight back against a populist resurgence of Sozism as most of the people who lived through the end of the Hundred Year War are now dead or old, struggling to put down it without becoming a tyrant?

Finally, in regards to point (3), regardless of how people feel about it, the franchise has been pretty consistent on which side of the nurture vs nature debate it stands with, constantly implying, if not outright stating, that its heroes and villains alike are products of nurture, not nature.

Moreover, the franchise has provided explanations, but never justifications, for why various villainous characters like Yun, Amon and Kuriva ended up doing the evil things they ended up doing, ranging from being betrayed by their father figure after being lied to their whole lives, being warped by abusive parenting, to unresolved abandonment issues.

However, the franchise’s consistent stance that evil is a product of nurture, not nature, would be heavily contracted if Azula, Ozai, and Azulon, and/or Sozin were written to have ASPD, at least to the degree that fandom thinks they have it.

For while ASPD is not a guarantee that someone would become a threat to society, as seen by the fact that a famous ASPD researcher has ASPD himself, yet managed to have a productive, normal life with friends and family, most people think that people with ASPD have the malignant version of it, as seen in various other artistic works like We Need to Talk About Kevin.

So, in combination with the fact that Azula, Ozai, and Azulon, and Sozin in all likelihood will never have their upbringings detailed on-screen or on-panel, if they are written to have ASPD, the audience will more likely than not assume that they were born with malignant ASPD, and thus born evil.

“Ok, you make some good points, but what if I don’t I don’t want Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and/or Sozin to be anything more than uncomplicated villains?”

“For a lot of shows nowadays have complicated villains with motives, and so giving the four Fire Nation Royals motives behind their evildoing would take away a lot from their uniqueness, and more generally, Avatar’s uniqueness as a franchise.”

“Like, what happened to villains who wanted to do evil just because?”

I agree with the sentiment that the trend of making every villain complicated might have gone too far, and that sometimes it is better to have uncomplicated villains who do evil just because.

But Avatar is a not a franchise with uncomplicated characters for the most part, as seen with not only the existence of characters with Hama and Jet, but also the inordinate amount of time the narrative spends humanizing the Fire Nation, even though it would have been very easy to paint them as ontologically evil.

So, by giving Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin motives for their evildoing beyond having ASPD, it wouldn’t take away from their uniqueness, or the Avatar franchise’s uniqueness in general, but in fact enhance it.

“Ok, writing Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin as not having ASPD wouldn’t ruin their characters, but what if I want them to have ASPD because it would enhance Avatar’s story.”

“Or more specifically, by writing those four as having ASPD, it would allow audiences to learn how to recognize those suffering from ASPD, or at least the malignant version of it, and learn how to deal with their behavior. And more generally, that not everyone’s issues can be solved with love and/or therapy, and that some people have to be taken down permanently for the good of society, or at least removed from society.”

In regards to the idea that writing Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin as having ASPD because it could teach audiences how to deal with people having ASPD, at least the malignant version, I would agree that be a good idea, if Avatar had a good track record of portraying mental health issues.

This is because Azula after Sozin’s Comet, or at least during her appearances in the pre-Faith Erin Hicks comics, is supposed to be suffering from split personality disorder.

However, as seen by the contentious discourse on what, if any, mental disorders Azula is suffering from, it is clear that they did not do a good job of showing that Azula was suffering from a split personality disorder.

In fact, there is a Word of Statement, one that is supported by various allusions in the post-Sozin’s Comet comics, that Azula and her fellow Fire Warriors were abused in their asylums, yet there is little to no time spent focusing on how their experiences informed their behavior.

So I am skeptical that they would be able to properly show all the symptoms and comorbidities associated with ASPD, and not just rely on and perpetuate stereotypes like they did with Azula and the Fire Warriors.

Also, just because Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin don’t have ASPD doesn’t mean their issues could be solved with love and/or therapy, or that social sanitation couldn’t be practiced in regards to them.

For not every troubled individual has ASPD, nor does everyone who committed heinous crimes worthy of being jailed for life have ASPD, so why can’t Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and Azulon be treated like those people?

“Ok, but what if I want Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin to have ASPD because I fear that giving them any nuance would be akin to excusing their crimes and abusive behavior and pressure Bryke into redeeming them, or at least suggesting they could have been redeemed in Azulon and Sozin’s cases?”

Just because there is an explanation for why the four Fire Nation Royals did horrible things wouldn't justify them, nor would it excuse anything.

For Sozin would still be the man who betrayed his best friend, turned his only son into a genocidal warlord, brainwashed his subjects into waging a genocidal war of conquest and imperialism, and responsible for the Airbender Genocide.

Azulon would still be the man who continued his father’s genocidal war of conquest and imperialism, turned both of his kids into genocidal warlords, responsible for the Southern Waterbender Genocide, had Ursa kidnapped and raped so his bloodline’s continued rule would be assured, and condoned Ozai’s abuse of both his children.

Ozai would still be the man who continued his forefathers’ genocidal war of conquest and imperialism, abused his wife and kids, murdered his father and usurped his older brother after coercing his wife to do the former for him, and attempted to genocide the Earth Kingdom.

And Azula would still be girl who conquered the Earth Kingdom, abused her brother and “friends,” murdered Aang, aided and abetted her father’s efforts to genocide the Earth Kingdom, attempted to kill her mother, brother, “friend,” and uncle, kidnapped a bunch of children, including her half-sister, and is currently engaged in domestic terrorism.

Moreover, just because there is an explanation for their evil beyond ASPD doesn’t mean that any of Azula, Ozai, Azulon, or Sozin have to be redeemed or have it be suggested that they could have been redeemed.

For just like The Avatar and the Fire Lord made clear (in my opinion) that just because Sozin felt guilty for betraying Roku and starting the Hundred Year War didn’t make him redeemable, there is nothing preventing Azulon remaining the unrepentant monster who was slain by the monster he created, Ozai spending the rest of his life seething in his cell, or Azula remaining a domestic terrorist incapable or unwilling to engage in self-reflection before the Gaang finally stops her for good beyond Bryke’s desires.

So to conclude, I don’t think there is anything wrong with seeing Azula, Ozai, Azulon, and/or Sozin having ASPD, and in fact, I think there are strong arguments to support such a view.

But what I am saying is that writing them as having ASPD is a bad storytelling choice since it ruins or weakens their ability to serve as narrative foils, eliminates potentially more complicated reasons for why the Fire Nation waged the Hundred Year War, as well the complex, engaging stories the franchise can tell of Zuko and his descendants’ ongoing struggles to reform the Fire Nation, and would be inconsistent with the franchise’s stance on the nurture versus nature debate.

And at the end of day, isn’t the Avatar franchise at its best when it is telling stories with engaging narratives and complex characters, even if the conflict is black and white?

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One of the more contentious arguments in the ATLA fandom is whether or not Azula has any mental disorder(s), and if so, what they are. 

Some fans think Azula suffered from some combination of antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and/or bi-polar personality disorder, and so all the events of the back half of Season 3 did was make her actively psychotic. 

Meanwhile, there are other fans who believe that Azula’s problem was being a poorly socialized kid who was raised to be the perfect conqueror and tyrant, and so her mental breakdown during Sozin’s Comet was a temporary stress-based breakdown caused by her life falling apart.

And while the comics could have provided a clear answer, they unfortunately haven’t as of the time of this post. 

This is because while Azula suffered from constant delusions and hallucinations for at least a year, they can be easily explained by her less than ideal treatment in her asylum.

(Yes, apparently it is canon that there is systemic abuse present in the Fire Nation’s asylum system, and that it played a major role in not only Azula’s worsened mental state in the comics, but also why the Fire Warriors willingly joined Azula’s side as well.)

( https://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/1027/avatar-last-airbender-search-cbr-interviews-gene-y )

Moreover, despite her and Zuko claiming that she appears to mentally better off in Smoke and Shadow, with Azula claiming that she no longer sees or hears “Ursa”, she occasionally is drawn in the same fashion as an actively psychotic Azula is in The Search.

Which suggests that her escaping the asylum and finding a new purpose in life, turning Zuko into a tyrant or retaking the throne for herself, is just a temporary fix.

In addition, at least in the post-Sozin’s Comet comics written by Gene Luen Yang, Azula is supposed to be suffering from a split personality disorder. 

( https://www.hypable.com/gene-yang-interview/ )

Yet I am pretty sure that a significant portion of fandom would agree with me when I say that did not appear to be the case in those comics considering Azula never appears to switch between her normal personality and any alters.

Therefore, considering the franchise refuses to give a clear answer on what, if any, mental illness(es) Azula has, what, if any, mental illness(es) Azula has is the realm of headcanons for now.

So, what mental illness(es), if any, do I headcanon Azula suffering from?

Well, I headcanon that Azula has (childhood) schizoaffective disorder plus complex post-trauma stress disorder (C-PTSD) caused by the fact that Ursa did manage to teach her morals, but she had to consciously disregard them to be her father's perfect heir. 

And that the first time she hallucinated Ursa was after her father made her do something heinous, like torturing an agitator in a prison at his command, or after she smiled after Zuko's burning, thinking that deserved it, even though deep down she knew it was wrong.

I also headcanon that she went to great lengths to hide her hallucinations and avoid triggering herself by doing things like avoiding mirrors to the point that no one other than Lo and Li suspected there was anything wrong with her.

But as Zuko, Ty Lee, and Mai “abandon” her before the events of the show occur, she starts to fall apart.

Hence why she seeks out Ty Lee and Mai, even though there are better fighters available like Combustion Man, and why she allows Zuko to "redeem" himself.

That and "Ursa" telling her that she has been a bad sister for trying to imprison or kill her own brother, and that he deserves to come back home, not in chains or in a coffin, but by her side as their father’s rightful heir once again. 

So, with her brother and friends back in her life, combined with the fact that she has succeeded in securing her father’s love by essentially winning the war as far as she is concerned, Azula is able to keep “Ursa” for the most part suppressed.

Hence why Azula appears to be happy and even somewhat normal during the first part of Season 3.

This, even though “Ursa” keeps telling her from time to time that it is wrong to blackmail her brother about the Avatar’s potential survival, and that it is a matter of time before Mai and Ty Lee stop tolerating her after everything she has done to them, especially Ty Lee.

So it’s no surprise that after Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and Ozai's "betrayals", especially considering the nature of their “betrayals” and how they all occurred within a short timeframe, that she becomes actively psychotic, with her condition then worsening due to the abusive asylum she was placed in, as well as the fact no one came to visit her until Zuko needed her to find Ursa.

But after Noriko apologizes for not loving her enough, plus Zuko affirming that he will always love her, she stops being actively psychotic due to a combination of no longer being in the asylum and her realizing her purpose in life is to "help" Zuko.

However, Azula hasn’t really healed, since her actions in Smoke and Shadow were essentially having a manic episode due to having a new purpose in life, no longer being in the asylum, and having new friends in the form of the Fire Warriors.

Moreover, her trying to turn Zuko into a tyrant, or if that fails, retaking the throne for herself, is a giant coping mechanism since actively coming to terms with the fact her trying to be her father’s perfect heir alienated her from everyone who she cared about would be too much for her psyche.

Especially since there doesn’t seem any way to redeem herself, let alone get her brother, Mai, and/or Ty Lee’s forgiveness and companionship again.

And why do I headcanon Azula suffering from (childhood) schizoaffective disorder alongside C-PTSD?

Well, initially, before rewatching ATLA, I used to think that Azula’s breakdown was a temporary, stress-induced breakdown caused by her life falling apart.

But after rewatching ATLA, or more specifically, the mirror scene, I picked on something very peculiar: Azula doesn’t appear to be shocked by the presence of “Ursa”, even though as far as she is concerned, Ursa has been gone for over five years at this point.

Azula: “All right hair, it's time to face your doom.”

Azula grabs the bangs hanging in front of her face. She lifts them in the air and cuts them, with them falling near her feet. Her reflection in the mirror shows her grinning, with her hair a mess, but she stops grinning as she notices Ursa appears in the reflection, behind Azula.

Ursa: “What a shame, you always had such beautiful hair.”

Azula: “What are you doing here?”

Ursa: “I didn't want to miss my own daughter's coronation.”

Azula: “Don't pretend to act proud. I know what you really think of me. You think I'm a monster.

Ursa: [ Cuts to shot of Azula looking at her reflection in the mirror, clearly angered; off-camera. ] “I think you're confused. All your life you used fear to control people, like your friends Mai and Ty Lee.”

Azula: [Closes her eyes before turning around sharply to face her mother.] “Well what choice do I have?! [ Cuts to shot of her standing in the room, her back to the mirror which still shows the reflection of her mother. ] Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way. Even you fear me.”

Ursa: [ Sincerely. ] “No. I love you, Azula. I do.”

Cuts to close-up of Azula as she bends over slightly, tears in her eyes, and her hair hanging down in messy locks. Cuts to shot of her hand gripped around a hairbrush on the table. The camera shifts as the enraged princess lets out a shout and hurls the brush at the mirror. The resulting impact shatters a large portion of the mirror, including where Ursa's reflection was seen. Cuts to overhead shot of the room as Azula kneels over and begins bitterly crying. The room is devoid of any other people, showing that Ursa's reflection was a mere hallucination.

So, after reading the comics and learning that not only did Azula continue to suffer from hallucinations and delusions, but also that her “recovery” wasn’t really a recovery at all, I came to the conclusion that you can tell a compelling story of Azula suffering from (childhood) schizoaffective disorder plus C-PTSD.

Or more specifically, you can tell a compelling story of Azula constantly struggling to suppress her conscience after Ursa left and she got molded into Ozai's perfect weapon, with her symptoms worsening as her friends and brother slowly but surely leave her life, only getting better after she forcibly brings them back into her life.

But after Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and Ozai “betray” her one by one, making her (subconsciously) realize that all the people she had hurt and pushed away in pursuit of Ozai’s "love" was all for nothing, and that she was wrong to ignore to “Ursa”, she can no longer keep her symptoms under check.

And that her behavior from Sozin’s Comet onward can be explained due a combination of the asylum worsening her condition, her going through periods of mania and depression, and her trying to avoid consciously admitting that Ozai’s abuse and her own choices led her to lose everything that mattered to her since doing so might break her for good.

So to conclude, I headcanon Azula suffering from (childhood) schizoaffective disorder plus C-PTSD, even pre-Sozin’s Comet, partially because Azula was not surprised at the presence of “Ursa” during the mirror scene, and partially because she continued to be suffering from delusions and hallucinations long after Sozin’s Comet.

And while I wish the writers for the franchise would do more research before trying to depict Azula suffering from such disorders, I do think with has already be depicted and said that there is enough present already to tell a compelling story involving Azula trying to deal with and overcome such disorders, regardless if she actually does succeed in overcoming them, or at least learn how to manage them.

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Amon and Kuvira are two characters who are important to TLOK’s narrative not only on an individual, character level, but also because they represent previously unaddressed social issues in ATLA’s world as well.

This is because in Amon’s case, the Equalist movement he heads deals with an important issue that the original ATLA glosses over at best: the issue of benders being innately superior to non-benders.

Or more specifically, the fact that, unless you are a highly trained and/or highly gifted non-bender like Piandao, Mai, Ty Lee, Suki, or Sokka, your bog standard bender who has the slightest amount of training has a nigh-insurmountable power advantage, and thus has every incentive to lord their unearned power over non-benders.

Meanwhile, Kuvira deals with an issue that up until her becoming the main villain of Season 4 was barely addressed in TLOK’s intro and glossed over in the ATLA comics: how would Earth Kingdomers feel about the United Republic being formed from the Fire Nation’s oldest Earth Kingdom colonies.

Or more specifically, how, after getting pressured by Fire National colonialists and those close to them, King Kuei and Avatar Aang worked with Fire Lord Zuko to give the oldest colonists the option of self-determination, which they exercised to form the United Republic.

This, even though the oldest colonies were dominated politically and economically by the Fire Nationalist colonists and their close allies, with the marginalized Earth Kingdomer masses having little to no say in regards to the above mentioned process.

(If you disagree with my characterization of how Earth Kingdomers would view the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis, please check out Chapter 44 of this "work" where I go into much more detail about this topic.)

However, it is precisely because Amon and Kuvira represent previously unaddressed social issues in ATLA’s world that I dislike them.

For in Amon’s case, before his identity was revealed, I was interested to see how the Krew would defeat him, let alone defeat the Equalist Movement since it wasn’t a problem that could be punched.

However, after his identity was revealed, I quickly soured on his character since, with him being a psychic, 24/7 bloodbender, it became apparent that the only way to beat him would be having an Avatar State Korra fight him or through a deus ex machina, with the latter being the way how he was defeated.

And I started disliking him once it became clear that the Equalist movement died off just because he was exposed as a fraud and Republic City’s all-bender council got replaced by a democratically elected unitary executive, one who so far has been non-benders due to non-benders numerical dominance.

This is because the underlying issue of benders having an innate advantage over non-benders never really got resolved, and so I hate how Amon’s character was used to avoid a real discussion or give any real solutions to said problem.

Especially since in real life, even if a movement’s leader is exposed as a fraud, the movement, or at least some variation of it, will continue to persist since movements, or more specifically, underlying issues in society, create leaders, not the other way around.

(This is because commanders/generals in the real world are responsible for the actions of their subordinates when it comes to war crimes, and more generally, leaders are generally responsible for the actions of their subordinates when their subordinates are acting within the scope of their relationship. Thus, I hold her to that standard, even if the war crimes tribunal of the United Republic doesn’t.)

(Also, her attempt to retake the United Republic was an illegal and immoral war of conquest since the United Republic had been a sovereign state for over 70 years, with its sovereignty recognized by all the other nations in the world, including the Earth Empire’s predecessor, the Earth Kingdom. Moreover, even if it hasn’t been said explicitly yet in canon material, I am pretty sure in the 70-odd years between the end of ATLA and the start of TLOK the five nations signed treaties making wars of conquest illegal.)

This, even though her adopted grandma fought in the War and was friends with Fire Nationals who grew up in the Hundred Year War era Fire Nation, and more likely than not told her about her and her Fire National friends experiences.

And why does she do all that? Not because she actually believes that the way the United Republic was formed was immoral and an act of injustice against the Earth Kingdom, but because of unresolved abandonment issues.

And when she “redeems” herself, she does the bare minimum before finally admitting her fault and getting house arrest in Zafou, the closest thing to paradise on Earth.

I thought Kuvira could have been used to tell a story about the evils of revanchism, and how an inability to let go of past territorial injustices and focus on the present leads people to becoming the very monsters they claim to be fighting against.

That and what steps an authoritarian conqueror would have to take to credibly redeem themselves not only in the world’s eyes, but also in the eyes of their people, who they betrayed and misled with their lies about peace and prosperity through violence and subjugation.

Instead, we instead essentially get a sane, adult Azula who doesn’t have the excuse of indoctrination and got a really undeserved and unearned redemption that fanfics often give to a heavily woobified Azula.

This, all while never directly addressing the Earth Kingdom’s lingering resentment towards the United Republic, nor ever giving a concrete resolution to said resentment.

So to conclude, I dislike Amon and Kuvira’s characters because the resolution of their arcs were not only unsatisfying on a personal level, but also ruined the potential to meaningfully address key issues present in TLOK’s world, thus weakening TLOK as a whole.

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Azula and the Red Lotus are arguably the Gaang and Krew’s most iconic villains, beloved for challenging their respective Team Avatar not just physically, but mentally as well with their tactics and mind games.

That and, as of the time of this post, they are the ones who have come closest to killing their era’s Avatar, with Azula actually succeeding in (temporarily) killing Aang.

So it is no surprise that fans often theorize what would happen if they ever teamed up, either in a what-if situation with all five of them in their primes, or an elderly Azula teaming with the Red Lotus after the events of TLOK or in a AU, and for good reason.

Imagine P’Li and Azula applying pressure using their unprecedented control over combustionbending and lightningbending respectively.

Imagine all the combos Ming Hua and Azula could pull off with their deadly and precise bending.

Imagine Ghazan and Azula slowly but surely overwhelming opponents with their mastery over their rare sub-element bending arts of lavabending and smokebending respectively.

(Yes, this post assumes that the smoke that Azula and the Fire Warriors produced while masquerading as the Kemurikage in Smoke and Shadow was generated through smokebending.)

(Moreover, that smokebending is a rare sub-element of firebending considering no else before or after the events of Smoke and Shadow have been shown to (purposefully) generate smoke, let alone with the control that Azula and the Fire Warriors display.)

And imagine all the dastardly plots and mind games Zaheer and Azula would concoct as they meticulously plot to take down their shared foe(s).

However, there is one massive problem that would prevent the Red Lotus and Azula from ever teaming up: the fact that they would be moral enemies.

This is because the Red Lotus are anarchists who kill monarchs and loathe the concept of states, let authoritarianism. Meanwhile, Azula is a genocidal, colonizing, authoritarian monarch who believes in the divine right to rule.

(Yes, Azula is genocidal since, regardless of who you think actually came up with the plan to genocide the Earth Kingdom, the fact that Azula was eager to join Ozai in his failed offensive, and was upset only because he told her she couldn’t join, is proof that is she more than ok with genocide.) 

Therefore, if Azula and the Red Lotus were to ever meet each other, they wouldn’t join forces, but instead would try to kill each other, viewing the other as the embodiment of everything they fight against.

Hell! Considering how diametrically opposed they are to each other, they might even join whatever version of Team Avatar is present to take out their opponent.

“Ok, you bring up a good point about how their diametrically opposed ideologies would make them natural enemies. But you don’t think they don’t have enough pragmatism to temporarily join forces and take out their shared opponent(s) before turning on each other?”

Azula does considering she was able to work with Long Feng and the Gaang to overthrow the Earth Kingdom and find Ursa respectively, provided she isn’t actively psychotic of course, but not the Red Lotus.

This is because the Red Lotus not only spent over a decade in their tortious prison cells and didn’t rat out anyone involved with the broader Red Lotus organization, but also didn’t rat out Unalaq, who betrayed them and the broader Red Lotus organization.

So no, the Red Lotus and Azula would not be able to overcome their deeply-held ideological differences to form a pragmatic partnership.

“But wouldn’t they be able to realize that they are natural allies, even for a temporary amount of time, considering they both want to end the Avatar cycle and commit mass murder?”

Ugh, as much as it disgusts me to type this out, Azula and the Red Lotus want to end the Avatar cycle and commit mass murder for different, totally incompatible reasons.

Azula wants to genocide any group of people who refuse to recognize the Fire Nation’s (supposed) innate superiority and submit to their rule, and therefore wants to end the Avatar cycle, or at least kill the current Avatar, because the Avatar is the only being capable of stopping the Fire Nation from imposing its will on the world.

Meanwhile, even assuming the Red Lotus is aware of Vaatu’s desire to eliminate humanity, they want to release Vaatu and reopen the spirit portals, regardless of how many casualties occur, because they think it will give people true freedom, and thus lead to a better world.

Accordingly, they seek to end the Avatar cycle because the Avatar, by their nature as the Avatar of the Spirit of Light and Peace, would be diametrically opposed to their plan and never stop fighting them, even if they successfully release Vaatu and reopen the spirit portals.

Or in other words, Azula and the Red Lotus’ reasons for trying to end the Avatar cycle and attempting to commit mass murder are tied to their diametrically opposed worldviews.

“But Azula from Smoke and Shadow onward creates chaos with her schemes of hers. So maybe her and the Red Lotus aren’t as diametrically opposed as you make them out to be.”

Even if the means of achieving her goals are chaotic due to her lacking mental health, everything Azula has done post-Sozin’s Comet is consistent with her being a genocidal, authoritarian monarch who believes in the divine right to rule.

For it is explicitly said multiple times in the comics and extended lore that she wants to either turn Zuko into a tyrant like their forefathers before them, or if that fails, retake the throne so she can sheer the Fire Nation back in the direction it was under Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai.

Therefore, all learning about Azula’s efforts to return the Fire Nation to its former “glory” would do in the eyes of the Red Lotus is turn her from a despicable tyrant and oppressor who needs to be punished for her crimes to a mad dog who needs to be put down for the sake for freedom.

But in no case would it make Azula and the Red Lotus any less antagonistic towards each other.

So to conclude, even though on the surface they would seem to be natural allies, Azula and the Red Lotus’ deep ideological differences rooted in the fact that Azula is a genocidal, authoritarian monarchist while the Red Lotus are spiritually attuned anarchists would make them natural enemies. 

In fact, the real question about a potential Azula-Red Lotus team up should not be how they would work together, but instead who would be driven to ally with the version of Team Avatar present to take down the other.

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Most people loathe the fact that Toph canonically not only becomes a cop, but also becomes a corrupt cop who abuses her authority to protect her criminal younger daughter. 

This is because, beyond claims of copaganda, people argue that it is out of character for someone like Toph, whose character is about flaunting authority and doing what she wants, to take a position of authority such as Republic City's Chief of Police.

However, I don't think there was a problem with Toph becoming a cop since I think Toph's issue with authority wasn't its existence per se, but instead the fact that she wasn’t the main authority figure, or one of the main authority figures, and therefore had to submit to someone else’s authority, even when doing so wasn't agreeable to her.

This is why Toph hated the way her parents sheltered her, enjoyed scamming people, and expressed verbal chagrin at Katara's mothering while at the same time enjoying being Aang's earthbending teacher to the point that she eventually opened her own metalbending academy, missed Sokka's leadership when he was training with Piandao, and admitted to Sokka that she did like Katara's mothering when she thought Katara was nowhere to be found.

Moreover, unlike the real world, policing in Avatar's world does not have the same negative history as in places like the United States, where policing arose out of slave-catching paroles.

In addition, it is highly likely that as Toph grew older, she wished to channel her need to fight and put bad guys down in a socially responsible way considering for better or worse she is associated with the Gaang, who are composed of several world leaders. 

Therefore, if she could have met those needs by, for example, starting an underground bending fighting ring or becoming a bounty hunter, she wouldn’t. 

Not when she deeply cares for her friends, even if she doesn’t show it, and therefore would never do something that would have the potential to seriously negatively impact them.

Also, considering she is a business partner with her dad in Earthen Fire Industries, and therefore makes frequent visits to Cranefish Town/Republic City, she would be acutely aware of not only of tensions between immigrants from the other three remaining nations, but also of the rising tensions between benders and non-benders as technology threatens uproot benders’ favored position in society.

Especially since she helped the Gaang in Imbalance take down a group of bending supremacist luddites who destroyed factories in Cranefish Town such as the one owned by Earthen Fire Industries.

So, taking all of the above into consideration and the fact that Toph is a simple person who doesn’t like complexity, it is easy to see a scenario where Aang and the United Republic Council, which would include Sokka, coming up to her and asking her and her metalbending students to help police the increasingly chaotic Republic City, with her as the Chief of Police, and her agreeing to do.

However, I think where Toph becoming a police officer fails is in the execution of her deciding to leave. 

Because whether she quit due to realizing that covering up Suyin's crimes made her unfit to lead like Lin says, or because she quit due to realizing that no matter how many bad guys she put away, she wasn’t making a real difference in her own worlds, none of them are consistent with her character arc of learning to care for and trust in others, as well as the world at large.

Hence, why I think people would not have a problem with Toph becoming a cop if her reason for quitting wasn’t due to personal corruption or becoming a jaded cynic, but instead because she realized that being a cop was not the best to stop bad guys and help her friends, and therefore quit so she could take direct action that she couldn’t take as a cop.

For example, you could have Toph in the early years of her tenure as Republic City's Chief of Police, after a bunch of apprehended thieves say they were pushed to criminality because they never received any reparations from the Fire Nation, and therefore lacked the means to make an honest living considering the dilapidated state of their home towns due to the War, go on a countrywide trip across the Earth Kingdom to see what is going on in regards to reparation payments. 

And during her trip, have her find out that the nobility and various government officials have been embezzling the payments and keeping it for themselves and their friends and family.

And then, after getting as many of them arrested, but finding out to her horror that without putting an end to the institution of nobility, or more generally, without giving the masses political and economic power, they will always get taken advantage of, have her tender her resignation and spend the rest of her life as an earthbending teacher who uses her wealth and political connections to help those the Earth Kingdom government can't or won’t while also advocating for and promoting democracy.

“Ok, what you said makes sense. But what if Toph becoming a cop and then quitting due to being corrupt or becoming jaded was a deliberate choice on the part of the writers? Because several characters in the franchise such as Azula and Yun have negative character arcs in which they become worse people over time.”

“And even someone like Aang, the purest person in the original show, has a negative arc when it comes to his kids: engaging in parental favoritism and putting too much pressure on his youngest, airbending child Tenzin.”

“So why can’t Toph being a cop who eventually quits due to corruption or cynicism be part of a negative character arc: namely, how her refusal to grow as a person, as well as her refusal to acknowledge that the world isn’t as simple as she wished it was until she was an old lady, not only harmed her, but also her family and the world at large?”

Because Azula, Yun, and Aang’s negative character arcs are consistent with their characters and logically flow from what was previously established about them.

Azula was a golden child who was raised to believe that fear and manipulation was the only way to gain loyal friends and family and choose to pursue her father’s love over her mother’s love, only to learn too late that using fear and manipulation on your friends and family is liable to turn them against you, especially when you the leading agent of a tyrannical, genocidal monarchy, and that her father never loved her, only what she could do for him.

Yun was raised to believe that he was the Avatar, only to learn shortly before being left for dead, or worse, to a nasty spirit by his father figure that he was not the Avatar, but instead his servant/friend.

Aang engaging in parental favoritism makes sense when you realize that only airbenders could continue the Air Nomad race and culture. 

Therefore, so long as him and Katara, a waterbender with non-bending parents, choose to engage in a monogamous relationship, Aang would have to favor any airbending child(ren) over any non-airbending child(ren) in order to make sure airbending and Air Nomad culture would not go extinct with his passing. 

Moreover, he would have to relentlessly drill said airbending child(ren), even if the pressure to succeed would end up tormenting them for the rest of their lives, because the fate of a bending art and nation would literally rest on their back(s).

Meanwhile, Toph, someone whose arc in the original show was learning to care for and trust in others and the world at large, became a corrupt cop and/or a jaded cynic because….?

So to sum up, I don't think Toph becoming a cop is out of character for her since she never had a problem with authority, only submitting to it. 

However, the problem with her becoming a cop is due to her quitting after abusing her power to protect Suyin after she not only committed several crimes, but also attacked her older sister who was trying to arrest her and her criminal associates. 

This is because it spits in the face of Toph learning to care about her friends since her abusing her power does no favors to the Gaang trying to maintain peace in Republic City, or the world at large.

But Toph learning that being a cop is not the best way to help her friends and the world because you can’t punch or jail the concept of evil away before then taking steps to try and get at the root of why people commit crimes through direct action and utilizing her immense political and social capital, would turn her becoming a cop from something that was inconsistent with her character arc of learning to care for and trust in others and the world at large into something consistent with said arc, therefore fixing the issue with her becoming a cop.

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Anon asked: Sadly, I can top the take on aang and being the main character.

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superdanny94 asked:  With the release of the pages of the new Avatar comic, what do you think about Kiyi redeeming her sister Azula?

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dramaisthelifebloodofgoodstories asked: Azula and Zuko reconciliation thoughts:

(tw abuse)

VERY complicated. 

They'd both need to want it, and it may take some serious growth from both of them (mainly Azula). From what we've seen, it doesn't work if only one of them does it. Azula tried in season 2/3, she failed. Zuko tried in the comics, it failed. Both for separate reasons. 

The interesting thing is that we've seen them be on decent terms in the show and comics.

For the most part they were on decent terms season 3, and the end of season 2. They got along, they had hearts to hearts (in the beach), and Azula made an effort to make sure Zuko could come back home as an honored guest. In the comics they're sometimes getting along. So they can get along...surprisingly easily/quickly too. 

But they are enemies, because they believe different things, and Ozai pits them against each other.

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superdanny94 asked: Do you think Azula will end up like Amon or Yun the false avatar as a tragic figure?

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superdanny94 asked: What do you think about the Zuko/Mai relationship because I personally feel that it has no development in the series and in the comics they made a mistake by separating them, I feel that not even the creators know how to carry out the relationship even though they ended up together

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Anonymous asked: Greetings, don't you think that a little Kiyi will be a kind of Zuko for this generation where Kiyi is in the possibility of becoming Azula just as Zuko could have become Ozai at the time and that in this Kiyi arc Zuko's figure is that of an Iroh who tries to guide Kiyi on the right path since Kiyi would have a kind of admiration/empathy for her sister where Azula would use it to her advantage to manipulate her against Zuko?

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yumnasfunblogsaysfreesudan asked: Sometimes I think the fandom forgets that Azula being an imperialist and Azula being a questionable sister are not really the same thing, even though they're connected a bit. 

Azula can try her best to be a good sister, and she does try in Book 3, but she's imperialist who doesn't really get why Zuko is conflicted on the fire nation. She doesn't get why it isn't a good thing for Zuko to be back home or why Zuko being separated from Iroh is bad (look, I don't like Iroh, but he's still the best adult in Zuko's life by a mile). 

Meanwhile, Azula not being an imperialist doesn't necessarily mean she'll be a good sister. Plus, there is a good possibility she'd end up fighting against Zuko anyway as an anti-imperialist (it completely ruins the point of Azula being the villain but it would make a good AU I think). 

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yumnasfunblogsaysfreesudan asked: (tw abuse)

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yumnasfunblogsaysfreesudan asked: (tw death, murder) Some ATLA thoughts about the argument "Azula would be worse if the show was for adults", Updated:

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Intro

People have spent a lot of time over the years analyzing ATLA, Korra, and their respective comics and lore books. ATLA and Korra, the latter to a lesser extent, have been praised countless times over for their worldbuilding, complex characters, and portrayal of complex topics such as abuse, genocide, colonization, and mental health issues in a manner digestable by children and tweens. 

Meanwhile, ATLA and Korra’s extended universe material have faced extensive criticism for failing to build upon the best parts of their shows at best, and retroactively harming them at worst. Moreover, fans often wish that the shows and their extended lore had an older intended audience so they could be more explicit.

However, there has been a relative lack of analysis of the Chronicles of the Avatar , an ongoing anthology series meant to elaborate on the lives of past Avatars. Which is a shame since, beyond the fact that there is a lot to analyze, good and bad, they also have a higher age rating, allowing them to be more explicit than either show or their extended material.

Kyoshi Novels

If the goal of the Kyoshi novels is to explain how Kyoshi became the ruthless pursuer of justice still feared and revered centuries after her death, then they succeeded wildly at that. Seeing Kyoshi go from orphan to servant to a wanted person and criminal on the run to an unsure Avatar struggling to engage in politics to a prideful Avatar who forgoes politics is a fascinating and highly enjoyable journey, especially since it is paired with extensive inner monologues showing Kyoshi’s ever changing morals. 

Or more specifically, her transformation from a straight-laced, law abiding citizen who would never take a life to someone obsessed with revenge and has no qualms about murder as far as she is concerned, and then her subsequent struggle to reconcile who she was with who she is now after all the tragedies she experienced and having Avatarhood foisted upon her before reconciling the two by willing to kill only when someone has shown themselves to be irredeemable or unable to be reasoned with. 

I enjoyed how the Kyoshi novels’ worldbuilding, or more specifically, how it expanded upon the politics of the four nations and what is possible with bending in a believable manner and without retconning much, if anything at all. 

For example, why is the Earth Kingdom state as seen in Aang and Korra’s time so weak and corrupt? It’s because the Earth Kingdom is so large that, in an era lacking quick means of travel or mass communication, it makes it hard for the state to extend its power. Therefore, governors and sages are able to exercise wide discretion with little to no practical supervision, often for the worst.

How and why was the Fire Nation Royal Family able to centralize power in the Fire Lord mantle, leading to Sozin being able to unilaterally declare war on the world and have the Fire Nation support him whole-heartedly? Well, between Avatar Stezo’s reforms that stopped the Fire Nation from splintering into the Fire Islands again, the ongoing clashes between the Royal Family and Fire Nation noble clans, and the Camellia-Peony War, Fire Lord Zoryu decided to engage in a multi-generation plan to crush the clans and centralize power in the Fire Lord.

Is it possible for benders to use their elements to stay in the air beyond air spouts and fire propulsion? Yes, see dust-stepping, mist-stepping, and jet-stepping. If so, then how come we don’t see benders in ATLA and Korra spam such a technique? Because, beyond the fact that the technique is only known to members of the Flying Opera Company, the precision requirements make it so that most benders can’t do it on top of it being highly impractical for militaries and militias to teach on a mass scale.

Why is Yun able to credibly engage an Avatar capable of bending all four elements in combat, albeit one who hasn’t mastered all four elements? Because he is an Earthbending prodigy with GOAT levels of precision and assassin training who eventually fuses with a spirit who at its peak was able to clash with a fully-realized Avatar and almost win, warping the Spirit World in the process.

I could go on, but the point is that the Kyoshi novels’ worldbuilding fits in seamlessly with previously established lore and doesn’t require any headcanoning on the part of the reader to explain, something that must have been very hard to accomplish considering the amount of content the franchise had already produced at the time of the novels’ publishing. 

And even when the Kyoshi novels do engage in retcons, not only are they logical, but they also enhance the themes and messages present in ATLA and Korra as well.

For example, one of the main themes in Korra is that there is no good or bad Avatar, only Wan’s eternally reincarnating soul trying its best to rectify the fallout from the many mistakes he made during his life. This, even though Kuruk tells Aang in ATLA that he was a bad Avatar because he went with the flow and falled to be decisive. 

However, we learn in The Shadow of Kyoshi (“ Shadow ”) that if Kuruk was a failed Avatar, it was only due to having to deal with the dark spirits created by Yangchen favoring humans over spirits basically on his own due to not wanting to ruin Yangchen’s legacy, which isn’t as spotless as most people in- or out-universe believed it to be.

I loved how the Kyoshi novels played with the concept of a fallen Team Avatar, or more specifically, showing the havoc an Avatar’s untimely passing can have on their companions. For example, seeing the toll killing scores of pirates in order to protect Earth Kingdomers, in the process sacrificing his mental and spiritual health, as well his relationship with his fellow Air Nomads, had on Kelsang is gut wrenching because you know for a fact that could have been averted if Kuruk hadn’t died.

Finally, I liked the nuance given to the various fallen heroes, as well as the depth present in all the villains.

Was Jianzhu always a power-hungry man who would have fallen so long as Kuruk died before he did and was in position to train his successor? Or was he a good man who cracked due to feeling guilty for failing Kuruk as far as he knew, his desire to honor Kuruk’s last request, and the pressure caused by the Earth Kingdom’s and his failure to identify Kyoshi?

Was Yun a good man who broke after suffering several, life-altering, traumatic events in rapid succession? Or was he an entitled, cock-sure boy who only believed in his professed values so long as he was the Avatar and wrongly decided to make his problems the world’s problem instead of focusing his rage at the man responsible for deceiving him?

Was Zoryu a good man who was forced to become a machiavellian of the highest order to avert a bloody civil war? Or was he always like that and only needed sufficient justification to show his true colors?

Why is Xu An Ping such a megalomaniac freak? Well, anyone with the ability to kill someone with a power so rare that it was considered a myth just by pointing at them would more likely than not develop a god complex.

Why was Captain Li a corrupt police officer? Because his gambling debts made him susceptible to bribery.

Why is Chaejin so hell-bent on taking the throne from Zoryu, even if it means inciting a bloody civil war? Because he essentially wants to get back at his father, who acknowledged him, only to do everything in his power to exclude him from their family. 

I could go on, but the point is that even the most irrational, vile villains in the Kyoshi novels have motivations that go beyond liking evil and/or doing evil for the lols. And while I do agree that the distinct lack of villains that do evil just because is a bad trend, Avatar for the most part has always had villains that do evil beyond liking it and/or for the lols, a trend I am glad the Kyoshi novels continued.

However, despite all the good things about them, there are four things that keep the Kyoshi novels from being perfect in my opinion.

First, the lack of POV chapters focusing on Rangi, as well the lack of inner dialogues by Rangi, and more generally, how she is basically the perfect Avatar companion and love interest. 

I understand that there is only so much time and page space available, and that if you give every slightly important character a decent amount of focus, the work will become bloated and lack focus. But Rangi isn’t just any character, she is Kyoshi’s best friend, lover, and firebending sifu. 

I would have loved a chapter or two focusing on her and her thoughts dealing with stuff like her, a law abiding citizen, becoming a criminal due to her duty to Kyoshi or her time in the Northern Pole as Hei-Ran was receiving treatment. I think it would have made her a much more realized character.

Likewise I wish Rangi and Kyoshi would have had more, longer-lasting, and deeper conflicts with each other. 

For someone who was raised to be a model, law abiding citizen and bodyguard meant to help the Avatar undertake the traditional journey to becoming a fully realized Avatar, it is odd that, beyond a couple of arguments, Rangi readily goes along with Kyoshi’s decisions and quickly reconciles with her whenever they have disagreements and/or wronged each other. 

Even after learning Hei-Ran had planned to sacrifice herself to Yun in order to help Kyoshi apprehend him and Kyoshi didn’t push back, the most Rangi does is yell at Kyoshi and tell her their friendship and relationship is over before essentially telling her she forgives her by making noodles for her.

I understand Rangi’s unyielding devotion to the Avatar and Kyoshi is supposed to be one of her key character traits, but I think one of the more interesting parts about Avatar is seeing an Avatar’s relationship with their companions develop through the highs and lows they experience together. Even Asami Sato, who in later seasons of Korra doesn’t really push back against Korra’s ideas or have true interpersonal conflict with Korra, had real, lasting interpersonal conflict with Korra in the form of the Mako-Asami-Korra love triangle. 

An Avatar-Avatar’s Companion relationship without real, interpersonal conflict is boring, and I think the Kyoshi novels are less for it, even though I like Kyoshi and Rangi’s characters, as well as their friendship and romantic relationship.

Second, the relative lack of interconnectedness between The Rise of Kyoshi (“ Rise ”) and Shadow , or more specifically, how Shadow moved on from Tagaka and the Fifth Nation threat and basically doesn’t have the Flying Opera Company in it until the climactic fight and epilogue.

In regards to Tagaka and the Fifth Nation, while I understand that they were crushed by Kyoshi and Jianzhu in Rise , with the former getting transported to Lake Laogai the last time she is mentioned, it was off-putting that a group of antagonists that had been a central focus of the first fifth to third of Rise and was treated as a threat on par with the daofei lacked any real follow up in Shadow .

While I don’t think it would have been a good writing choice to have Tagaka escape the Earth King’s custody or have the Fifth Nation be active antagonists again in Shadow , I wish we got proper follow up on them, like Kyoshi meeting with the Earth King’s forces and making sure Tagaka is properly secured and unable to communicate with the remnants of the Fifth Nation, or Kyoshi hunting down remnants of the Fifth Nation like she does with daofei.

Third, Kyoshi’s relatively quick rise in power, or more specifically, how she was in the span of a month and some change able to use the Avatar State at will and not be a complete liability when it comes to bending, and within a year, able to become a decent bender in all four elements.

I understand that having Kyoshi take longer to be able to use the Avatar State and become competent at bending would have ruined the pacing of both books. Moreover, beyond the fact that the muscle memory and instincts that come from her past lives gives her a leg up when it comes to learning the elements, that her constantly being in life-or-death fights accelerated her bending development and Lao Ge was the perfect spiritual guru for her.

But it was off-putting to me that, despite essentially only spending a month with bending masters and a spiritual guru and reading scrolls whenever she was in Yoyoka, she was able to become so competent. Personally, while her rate of development in Rise can be overlooked, her rate of development in Shadow is jarring. 

I wish we had gotten a blurb or two saying that Kyoshi actively sought out and received training from bending masters during the time skip, and that Lao Ge continued to visit her in secret to help her spiritual development.

Finally, I think Yun’s heel-face turn is too quick. Even though he went through a trauma conga line that would have broken the vast majority of people, I feel we were missing a few steps between him being angry at his current lot in life and for being lied to for so long and him slaughtering innocent people. 

This is because I never got the impression that pre-Father Glowworm Yun was the type of person who would discard his professed and practiced values if he wasn’t the Avatar or endured great suffering. 

Yun becoming an omnicidal maniac, in my opinion, would have come across better if he was seen slowly but surely going from killing very deserving targets to less and less deserving targets before he is shown killing innocents. It would have made Kyoshi’s realization that Yun won’t stop his quest for vengeance until he has painted the planet red hit much harder in my opinion.

But to make it clear, these are minor nitpicks. Despite the flaws I mentioned, I think the Kyoshi novels are well-written novels that expand the universe in a logical and consistent manner and do justice to Kyoshi’s character.

Yangchen Novels

Outside of a long unplayable flash game that most people have never heard of, Yangchen only had two appearance before her novels: a brief appearance in ATLA in which she tells Aang to sacrifice his spiritual needs because of his duty to the world and a couple of panels in The Rift in which she explains the backstory of the main (physical) antagonist of the story and tells Aang needs to do to stop his return.

Yet, despite not having much to build off of, the Yangchen novels manage to extrapolate a 3-D, fully realized character that credibly explores what an Air Nomad Avatar looks like when they are one of many airbenders, and not the last airbender.

If Korra’s story is about a warrior in an era that needs a spiritual leader and diplomat, and Aang’s story is about a spiritual leader and diplomat in an era that needs a warrior, then Yangchen’s story is about a spiritually-inclined Avatar in an era that needs a politician and spymaster. 

Hence, why the Yangchen novels take the form of a political spy thriller, a risky choice considering political spy thrillers are harder to write than coming of age stories, the form all other Avatar stories have taken, because the characters in such stories are only as smart as the author(s), though thankfully, F.C. Yee was more than up to task. The way he was able to analyze the Cohong system and the Cold War and use them to mold a believable work of historical fantasy with convincing politics is nothing short of amazing. 

Personally, Noehi telling Yangchen that unless there was a spiritual problem, the Bin-Er shangs were uninterested in her proposals for socioeconomic reform was a highlight since it showed the limits of the Avatar’s ability to rely on their martial prowess or spiritual authority to enact change.

I think his choice to make the White Lotus into a morally grey organization that doesn’t fully trust the Avatar and is ok with manipulating world leaders and war so long as their definition of balance is upheld was an inspired one. 

This is because the White Lotus up to the Yangchen novels’ publishing had been portrayed as a hands off organization that only intervenes during moments of great importance (ATLA), a transnational NGO (Korra), or an organization that helps the Avatar in non-overt ways (Kyoshi novels), but in all cases, always having the best interests of the Avatar and the world at heart. It was interesting to see the White Lotus be more than neutral or overtly good wise men and women.

I also enjoyed the fact that they learned from not giving Rangi any chapters focused on her and gave Kavik several chapters focused on him. I think doing so allowed the Yangchen novels to show his inner life, and therefore gave his relationships weight that was lacking with Rangi in the Kyoshi novels.

And I really enjoyed the antagonists, especially Kaylaan and Chaisee, who are in my Top 5 favorite villains in the franchise. 

Kaylaan is an excellent deconstruction of Water Tribesmen values and waterbending ethos. Or more specifically, how devotion towards one’s family can be twisted to justify great evil, as well as how adherence to waterbending’s guiding principle of going with the flow can be used to facilitate such evil.

In fact, I think Kaylaan’s encounter with Kavik in Joundri in which he effortlessly exploits Kavik’s devotion to family to turn him into a double agent is a Top 3 villain moment in the franchise surpassed only by Azula forcing Long Feng to submit to her and Azula electrocuting Aang in the Avatar State.

Meanwhile, Chaisee’s affable exterior combined with her callous, cold-hearted depravity and genuine love and devotion towards her family leads to one of the most nuanced and layered villains in the entire franchise.

I liked how F.C. Yee was able to give readers a wide variety of antagonists that challenged the heroes physically (ex. the four named combustion benders), mentally (ex. Chaisee and Feishan), and sometimes both (ex. Kaylann). 

I also liked how F.C. Yee was able to walk the line of having the antagonists’ motivations appear to be logical and sometimes rooted in higher ideals and principles while making it clear that at the end of the day they were motivated by some combination of greed, fear, wraith, paranoia, and boundless ambition.

However, despite all the good things about them, there are two things that keep the Yangchen novels from being perfect in my opinion. Namely, the slow and somewhat disjointed start to The Dawn of Yangchen (“ Dawn ”) and Kavik’s betrayal being treated too lightly.

In regards to Dawn starting slowly, I understand that introducing readers to Kavik and the events leading to Yangchen coercing Kavik into becoming an asset/companion of hers are important considering Kavik is the deuteragonist of both Yangchen novels, but I wish Dawn explained the current political status quo earlier. 

Maybe it is poor reading skills on my part, but it was annoying to keep hearing references to the politics in Bin-Er and the other shang cities without proper context until Henshe gives Yangchen, and by proxy the audience, an exposition dump during the rough mid-way point of Dawn . In my opinion, Dawn would have been a much easier read if the exposition dump happened during the beginning of the book.

In regards to Kavik’s betrayal being treated too lightly, it is less how Kavik feels about it and how Yangchen’s other companions react, and more about how Yangchen extends him way too much grace in her inner monologues in my opinion. 

I understand that Yangchen did coerce Kavik into joining her team, and it is in Yangchen’s nature to be forgiving and understanding, especially since she tries to adhere to her people’s teachings despite her Avatarhood. 

But I wish Yangchen’s inner dialogue had expressed more anger and trust issues towards Kavik, someone who expressed the desire to be a true Avatar’s companion instead of just an asset before his betrayal, before he allowed himself to get stabbed and threw away any possible reconciliation with his brother for the world’s and hers sake.

Remember, Kavik’s betrayal didn’t just result in combustionbending being unleashed on the world, it led to a chain of events that resulted in Yangchen getted banished from the Northern Air Temple, Nujian’s death, and a world war almost breaking out. Yangchen’s relative lack of anger and trust issues towards Kavik is jarring considering the fallout of his betrayal.

But to make it clear, these are minor nitpicks. Despite the flaws I mentioned, I think the Yangchen novels are well-written novels that expand the universe in a logical and consistent manner, respect the intelligence of its readers, and do an amazing job of fleshing out a character that was essentially a blank slate.

Reckoning of Roku

I understand what Randy Ribay was trying to do. 

Show how difficult it must have been for Roku, a spoiled sweet nobleman who grew up friends with the Fire Nation Crown Prince, to adjust to not only his Avatar training, but also having to think of himself as the Avatar first, and Fire National second. 

Lay the seeds of how Sozin, a man who grew up in peaceful times, would become the man who started a global war of genocide and conquest on top of being a persecutor of homosexuals. 

Explain how Gyatso and Roku became friends while also building off the implication that Gyatso was a bit of an iconoclast.

Moreover, I understand that writing this novel must have been much more difficult than either the Kyoshi or Yangchen novels because we already know the broad strokes of Roku and Sozin’s lives.

But with that being said, I think the novel not only falls at the tasks it sets out to achieve, but also creates several plot holes in ATLA on top aggravating some of the franchise’s worst aspects. This is due to its hamfisted delivery, reliance on cheap call backs and forwards to ATLA, inability to think through the implications of what is being portrayed and/or implied, and unwillingness to allow anything of substance to occur. 

For example, the way Sozin’s corruption arc, or lack thereof, is portrayed. Sozin is 16 during the vast majority of the novel. By the end of the main story, basically every important character sans Roku, from Dalisay to Kozaru to Malaya to Gyatso, can sense that he will be a terrible tyrant. In fact, Sozin is so obviously evil that Malaya decides to kill Sozin or die trying, even though she only heard of him a couple of days ago and physically interacted with him for a couple of hours at best.

While I understand someone like Sozin had to have had several red flags growing up, it’s so unsubtle that it retroactively makes Roku worse for not realizing sooner that Sozin is a terrible person capable of unreal depravity. Especially since, in the event that Gyatso interacts with Sozin further and remains in-line with his presented characterization, he will not only press the issue with Roku, but also force him to choose between their friendship and his friendship with Sozin. This even though we know the Roku-Sozin friendship falls apart for different reasons and Gyatso and Roku remain steadfast friends for life and beyond. 

And speaking of Gyatso, he is less of a character and more of a perfect manic pixie guy whose purpose in the story is make Roku and Malaya into better people, make hollow allusions to his final fate, and recognize and call out evil to his companions way before anyone else does. Gyatso lacks any flaws beyond the fact that he struggles with his grief and attachment to his late, older biological sister, and even then, he quickly overcomes them by talking about her to Malaya. 

This is why, for example, the novel’s attempt to derive pathos from Gyatso’s grief, as well as use it to develop the Roku-Gyatso relationship by having them bond over their grief for their lost siblings, fails. Gyatso is not allowed to be anything other than morally righteous and flawless, or truly struggle; even Roku feels resentment towards his parents for essentially wishing he drowned instead of Yasu and wonders if Sozin is truly his friend or if he is Yasu’s replacement goldfish.

In fact, the problem with Gyatso extends to the Air Nomads as a whole, who are portrayed as always being in the right and never really having any real flaws. The closest they come to getting criticized is when Roku points out to Gyatso it's odd that they segregate their temples and that their pacifism is as much of a choice as choosing to fight. But even then, Gyatso fails to truly acknowledge the merits of Roku’s points before their argument is interrupted and never revisited.

After seeing Air Nomads like Tenzin, Jinpa, Kelsang, and Yangchen who struggle to not only uphold their people’s values, but also with their numerous flaws and failures, it is disheartening to see Gyatso and the Air Nomads of this era as they are portrayed in this novel have any complexity and nuance stripped from them. Even Aang, who at times comes off as a perfect manic pixie guy, has flaws and struggles, such as his jealousy, laziness, and his tendency to prioritize his happiness and joy over his duty to the world.

Examples of the novel’s reliance on cheap call backs and forwards include, but are not limited to, Gyatso having a vision of his final fate unprompted, repeatedly having Roku trip, only to have Sozin keep him from falling, and Gyatso apparently being the one to invent the phrase, “Flamey-O, Hotman!” and have it adopted by the Fire Nation by the time Aang visits Kuzon in the Fire Nation in Dragon Days . 

I like call backs and forwards, but there is a difference between having them come about naturally, and them being the equivalent of dangling keys in front of a baby. The call backs and forwards in the novel unfortunately fall into the latter category, with the last example being particularly egregious since it makes the world much smaller.

In fact, Gyatso apparently being the one to invent the phrase, “Flamey-O, Hotman!” ties into my point about the novel not thinking through the implications of what is being portrayed and/or implied. 

For example, before the novel was released, ATLA and its related comics implied that blue fire and iridescent (rainbow) fire were the product of genetics, skill, and, in the later’s case, spiritual enlightenment, and not an indicator of raw power because that would mean Azula and Zuko, especially Azula since she constantly generates blue fire, are the strongest firebenders in ATLA, and not the older members of the Royal Family and possibly Jeong Jeong like the show implies and various word of god statements explicitly state. 

However, by making it so that Roku and Sozin can only generate blue fire while receiving a spirit amp, with the former only being able to produce iridescent fire after charging his flames, despite being amped hundreds to thousands of times, it retroactively upscales Azula, Zuko, and everyone they fight.

Another example is Sozin finding Wan Shi Tong’s library and being granted access to it. Why would someone who is obsessed with power, firebending, and proving himself to his father, not return to the library and digest all of the relevant firebending knowledge contained in the books and scrolls he found? Well, the novel doesn’t answer this, even though it raised this question by having Sozin find it in the first place.

Likewise, an additional, related example is how Wan Shi Tong’s library is responsible for Sozin learning to harness the power of The Great Comet. 

In ATLA, there is no prior knowledge needed to use the Great Comet to enhance your firebending. So long as you can firebend, it will be amplified. This in combination with the fact that the Twin Suns Festival mentioned in the Kyoshi novels implies that the Fire Nation always knew about the power boost the Great Comet gave. It just took until Sozin for the Fire Nation state to be willing to weaponize it. 

But The Reckoning of Roku (“ Reckoning ”) changes this by saying there is specific knowledge needed to be able to harass the power of the Great Comet, knowledge that the Fire Nation state did not have until Sozin. This explanation is incongruent with what is presented in ATLA and was implied in prior established lore.

A final example of the novel’s inability to think things through is how it portrays the natives of Lambak Island. Or more specifically, how people like Amihan and Ulo are portrayed as being evil for being willing to murder outsiders to protect their home and clan. 

It would be one thing if the Western Kingdom Trading Company party and Sozin’s party came to the island solely to explore it and learn. But not only did both parties come to the island to exploit it, with the Western Kingdom Trading Company party’s guards eventually destroying the Lambak clan’s village after repeatedly being shown mercy by Malaya, the novel ends with Sozin exploiting the villagers to extract their spirit touched ore with no guarantee that he won’t rescind their special status once he ascends to the throne and becomes overtly antagonistic to Roku.

I don’t know if it was intentional, but the treatment of Lambak Island resembles the thought process of people who try to contact Northern Sentient Island without authorization, as well as the comments hurling hate towards the natives when they invariably kill would-be intruders. I don’t understand why a franchise that prides itself on its progressiveness would fail to see the resemblance. Though to be fair, the concept of leaving land and/or people alone is something the franchise has always struggled with (ex. “The Mechanist” and The Rift.) , so maybe it is less the fault of Reckoning and more a franchise original sin.

Finally, in regards to allowing nothing of substance to occur, despite all of the events that occur in the novel, the only things of consequence that occurs that is directly tied to the island that is the focus of the book is that it becomes a special territory of the Fire Nation and is having it’s special ore mined with the implication that it is part of the reason why the Fire Nation has such an industrial advantage over the other nations during the Hundred Year War.  

Roku connecting with Kyoshi and unlocking airbending and earthbending, Gyatso reconnecting with his airbending, and Roku and Sozin starting to drift apart did not specifically need Lambak Island. And despite all the time and focus spent on Yungib’s cave, in the end it doesn't matter since it was destroyed and Yungib is unlikely to ever exert such influence in the human world again.

Again, I understand that writing this novel must be hard considering we already know so much about Roku and Sozin. And I don’t think self-contained stories in and of themselves are bad. 

But I think in this instance Reckoning being a mostly self-contained story is a bad writing choice because of how much time was spent on Yungib’s cave and Lambak Island. The time that was spent exploring the island, the island’s natives, and Yungib’s cave could have been better spent, for example, fleshing out Sozin’s corruption arc.

However, that being said, there were a few things I liked about the novel.

First, I enjoyed how the novel fleshed out the details of Fire Nation society, finally confirming that there is a Royal Academy for Boys, giving details about the burial practices of Fire Nationals, going into detail on how the Fire Nation identifies the Avatar, and confirming the common headcanon that non-benders can not assume the Fire Lord mantle.

Second, I actually enjoyed Kyoshi’s ending. I know a lot of fans were upset to learn that Kyoshi’s immorality had caused her to stop caring about the inherent value of life, but I always thought that was her natural endpoint considering it is a common trope for immortals to seek death after realizing they are losing respect for life, if they haven’t already. I enjoyed seeing Sister Disha and the Air Nomads essentially force Kyoshi to realize that she had lost the humanity the Avatar needs, and therefore willingly reincarnate.

Finally, I enjoyed the portrayal of Sozin’s relationship with his father, as well as his misogyny. I think the best parts of the novel are those that show how Fire Lord Taiso’s constant emotional abuse, bias against the other nations and their citizens, and reminders that he would disinherit Sozin if not for Zeisan being a non-bender influences Sozin. This is because, in my opinion, they do a better job of planting the seeds of Sozin’s downfall than other characters being able to sense he is a tyrant to be and vocalizing their hunch. 

Likewise, I like the nuanced portrayal of Sozin’s misogyny in which he more than willing to use intelligent, martially inclined women for his benefit while at the same time not wanting them to get too big for their britches because it allows you to see where his descendents’ misogyny comes from, and more broadly, why gender relations in the Fire Nation during Aang’s era looks the way it does. This all while avoiding being hamfisted.

That being said, the few good things that Reckoning does not save it from being an aggressively mediocre novel at best, and actively harmful towards the franchise at worst. I hope Awakening of Roku (“Awakening”) learns from the mistakes of Reckoning and builds upon the good parts of Reckoning so that Roku can finally have the novel he deserves to have.

Final Rankings and Conclusion

Overall, I think the first four novels in the Chronicles of the Avatar are a more than worthy addition to the franchise, capable of standing on their own feet regardless if the reader has watched ATLA and/or Korra or read their associated extended universe material, and enhances them upon subsequent rewatches and re-readings. At worst, they are on par with ATLA S1, and at best, they surpass it, though they fail to reach the heights of ATLA S3, let alone ATLA S2, which I consider to be the best canon works in the franchise. 

Meanwhile, I think Reckoning at best fails to add anything to the franchise, and at worst actively detracts from it due to its hamfisted delivery, reliance on cheap call backs and forwards to ATLA, inability to think through the implications of what is being portrayed and/or implied, and unwillingness to allow anything of substance to occur. While I don’t think the novel reaches the nadirs that Ruins of the Empire does, which is the worst released canon Avatar material in my opinion, I think it is on par with the Gene Luen Yang post-war ATLA comics at best. And sadly, I don’t think Awakening will improve subsequent readings of Reckoning considering Reckoning is a mostly self-contained story and it is unlikely Lambak Island will be revisited in any significant manner. 

Therefore, I highly recommend reading the first four novels, especially if you are a dedicated Avatar fan, while I recommend reading Reckoning only if you are a die-hard Avatar fan who must read everything that comes out of the universe, regardless of quality, or someone who engages in powerscaling.