Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandom:
Relationships:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:
2025-08-05
Words:
355
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
4
Kudos:
26
Bookmarks:
3
Hits:
411

Why does NO ONE acknowledge that Azula saved Zuko when she didn’t need to?

Summary:

So the canon writers did everything they could to portray Azula as a villain underserving of compassion or redemption.

But in order for precious Zuko to thrive, Azula had to save him from Azulon and Ozai.

Work Text:

Azula is never given a single chance in flashback for the audience and her own kin to see her as anything other than a wicked sociopath.

 

Overanalyzing Avatar is 100% correct for the criticism of portraying Azula as villainess as her 14 year old self instead of an innocent but deeply adamant Fire Nation patriot. Someone who clearly isn’t a sociopath but can be easily molded by Ozai.

 

 

So, Azulon pushes the son he hates for correctly pointing out that a successful crisis is inevitable with the death of Prince Lu Ten.

 

Azulon doesn’t care about Iroh’s spare or that “spare’s” two children, so he orders the death of his only still living grandson.

 

 

The writers had Azula warn Zuko in a sadistic manner, and then honestly tell Ursa who would save Zuko by killing Azulon but leaving the father who she knows hates Zuko for being weak and Ursa’s own fake treasonous love letter alive.

 

 

Azula 100% would have been better off not telling Zuko or Ursa the truth.

 

 

That means Mai who’s only contribution is loving Zuko, doesn’t have a “boyfriend” to save.

 

And his Royal tea-loving kookiness who massacred an untold number of earth kingdom soldiers and citizens but is allowed to live freely as a war criminal in the place he once attacked for 600 days, does not have a nephew to pamper.

 

 

Iroh is ignorant of his father’s cruelty to his second son and that son’s family, even though it’s obvious to anyone with a functioning brain.

 

 

The fandom gives Ursa the benefit of the doubt that she loved Azula too, and Azula is wrong in her beliefs about her mother, that could have been remedied by showing Ursa give Azula a goodbye like she did for Zuko when he was sleepy.

 

 

Zuko confronts his father during the eclipse. Ozai is pretty clearly talking about the fact that he was going to kill Zuko for the throne, even though the show makes sure that it’s stated in broad terms.

 

Zuko’s mantra of “Azula always lies” doesn’t work, because Zuko’s dumb brain should realize that Azula was telling him the truth.