Haaro

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Unfortunately Azula was too heavy and Katara has died. As you can see, Azula is very torn up about this.

Why is Azula demonized? Why is Ozai so 1 dimensional? Why is Iroh not examined critically? Why is Aang's growth so neglected? Why is Kataang put to the side? Why didn't we hear about Katara returning to rebuild her tribe? Why so many unresolved or contrived plotpoints? etc etc etc

All of this is because all they really cared about was they wanted to put Zuko front and center, to celebrate and glorify every little step the dude took towards self-improvement, make it look Oh so Good and Totally Welcomed, lmao.

I think this is the reason why I feel his redemption arc is a bit forced. I'm sorry, but being more honorable than most in the Fire Nation isn't exactly hard to do. It feels like he just has to put the barest minimum effort into actual self-improvement, yet somehow it's treated as the most extraordinary thing imaginable. Even when he turns around and keeps doing awful stuff. It's like, yeah it's great that he's more compassionate towards his crewmembers and all. Doesn't stop the fact that he's still participating in an imperialistic, genocidal war on the side of the genociders.

Look, I get that it's inherently hard to write a character such as this. This is part of the reason why I think characters like Azula or Aang get screwed over just to make Zuko look better. By downplaying what the Fire Nation actually does or trying to try and divorce the bad eggs from the Fire Nation, it makes Zuko, who's supposed to represent the honorable, good parts of the Fire Nation, look better by comparison. It's the "easy" way of doing things. Unfortunately, all it does is sanctify Zuko at the expense of everyone else.

You want to know how to actually make Zuko's admirable traits work instead of downplaying everyone else? Use them against him. Like, here's an idea: right after Iroh praises Zuko as being more honorable than most in the Fire Nation, Zuko overhears some asshole soldier saying that one good thing, such as sparing Zhao isn't honorable. It's the appearance of honor. This causes Zuko to scowl and go back to his Avatar hunting phase. Or if he's written to gradually be more compassionate, that just drives him to become even more desperate to find the Avatar since now it's not just his own honor he's after. Or have him double down on his imperialistic upbringing in the Earth Kingdom. Like have him try to divorce the evils the Fire Nation did from the Fire Nation, or have him be disgusted with the Earth Kingdom because of the actions of those in "Zuko Alone". In essence, good, honorable traits become twisted. Only have those traits stand out once he actually tries to rebel against the Fire Nation. Not when he's in service of them. It's practically how every Greek tragedy works (and I am reading Aristotle, so I know what I'm talking about [kind of]). Good character has flaws that bring ruin.

The problem with ATLA is that they try to portray those good traits as the reason why Zuko is "better" than the rest of the other Fire Nation characters. They're not there as a way to explain how good becomes bad, the nature of evil, or even just as a springboard for actual redemption. Just that he's already halfway there for doing the bare minimum. Which kind of becomes ironic since Katara and Sokka bring "the bare minimum" up when Toph tries arguing for Zuko to join the Gaang. Or, hell, if we're going to extend that logic, I guess freakin' Ozai should be considered more redeemable. What? They brought up his baby pictures, and Aang says he can't believe Ozai was born evil as evidence. Except it doesn't because the narrative still correctly portrays him as a genocidal, abusive monster.

Yes, Zuko never got to that level. But considering that characters such as Azula get the "bad backstory doesn't excuse actions" schtick while he kept getting a free pass, that makes his treatment a bit unique. I honestly think that while this problem was always there, it was at least mitigated in Books One and Two where he was still a bad guy and his redemption was a long way off. It wasn't until Book Three that it started to become a serious problem. And arguably in NATLA since they started to take more than a few cues from Book Three by pushing Zuko as being the savior of the Fire Nation even harder in the original.

I'll end this essay with a quote from Doctor Who that basically sums this whole thing up:

despite katara hating zuko for betraying her in the catacombs, who actually delivered the killing blow to aang? azula. there's no way katara doesn't hate azula viciously for that

parallels of prodigy little sibling but one was encouraged to become worse while one had total control over her choices at a far too young age

the final agni kai ended with katara just knocking azula to her knees, literally. it must've been horrifying for azula since why would the to be firelord have anyone to fear?

idk if i want katara to be ragebaited by her or have her take a page from aang's book and be nonchalant

despite katara hating zuko for betraying her in the catacombs, who actually delivered the killing blow to aang? azula. there's no way katara doesn't hate azula viciously for that

parallels of prodigy little sibling but one was encouraged to become worse while one had total control over her choices at a far too young age

the final agni kai ended with katara just knocking azula to her knees, literally. it must've been horrifying for azula since why would the to be firelord have anyone to fear?

the truth is that azula cares about zuko (in a very distorted way given how her upbringing and trauma restrict her ability to express it in a way anywhere in the area code of healthy) to the extent that because she chooses him over herself in bringing him home (because it is an insane retcon that implies she is near omnipotent to say she knew for certain the avatar was not really dead and was just going to scapegoat zuko, not to mention it makes very little sense and is, again, boring), she loses everything. and zuko cares so little for azula that he only feels anything remotely close to grief about it all when he sees just how badly she's hurting.

Azula loves Zuko, she cares about him, like OP said. The thing is, she grew up in a toxic, unhealthy environment all her life, and contrary to Zuko, who had first his mother and then Iroh, she has no support aside for the man who praises her every move, her father. And so her rude, cruel, “evil” and malicious ways to play with her brother don’t look like that in her eyes. They seem simple playing with Zuko. Even taunting him for what Azulon said, she did it to kind of warn him, I guess? Because I don’t think she thought it could actually happen, and yet it was true.

Azula is a child whose father’s enablement made her blind to the pain she caused, to the point where she couldn’t even see that her way of playing with her brother and friends was wrong, or cruel. And when her mother did not enable her behavior, or justify her way of playing, she considered her the enemy, someone who preferred Zuko over her. Which pushed her towards Ozai even further.

Meanwhile, Zuko is older, he knows his mother and uncle’s compassion. He knows that the way Azula plays with people and with him is wrong. He doesn’t like it. And in his child mind, the basic sibling rivalry is much more than that. He has to prove himself to best his sister and win his father’s love for once. But he fails, Azula taunts him in her way to be a sister, and he grows to hate her. So of course, Zuko grows up resenting his sister, without seeing the good in her. Just what Ozai wants. Not what Ozai made her.

And by Zuko’s pov, Azula is simply the prodigy who follows him and taunts him and takes things away from him, and when she does do things for him, he’s too paranoid to see the good and automatically thinks she is out to get him. He doesn’t realize that the betrayal on the day of the black sun deeply scarred her. He doesn’t realize his leaving once again is just another step towards insanity. And when she fully goes mad, he doesn’t see a sister. Just an enemy. Because at that point he made peace with the fact that she doesn’t care for him and never did, which is a lie.

I think this view and point of view of Zuko was also shared by Iroh, because he too isn’t capable to see the good in her, as he usually does. And given that he wasn’t always present during Zuko and Azula’s childhood, he only sees the grown up version of Azula in which the enablement has cemented.

So in the end, it is all about the character’s perspective. Azula cared for her brother but never showed it in a traditional way, as Zuko wanted, because of Ozai’s influence in her life. And Zuko cares for his sister, loves her even, but has lost all faith in her because he doesn’t align with her way of playing/joking/reacting, and thinks of it as hatred and hostility towards him. As a result he doesn’t see her as someone he loves anymore, but as an enemy.

i'm genuinely asking you to tell me when zuko ever does or says anything to imply he cares about azula in the show. not your personal beliefs about his secret thoughts that we never see proof of but legitimate proof within canon that he cares about azula at all because i cannot think of a single moment that supports this idea.

and once more i will clarify: i am not morally indicting this fictional character for not caring about his sister. he's not real. him being a bad brother doesn't do any real world harm. it just makes his dynamic with his sister more compelling because it's interesting and subversive to what we usually see portrayed in fractured sibling relationships in fiction. if your response to "zuko is flawed and doesn't care about his sister" is to provide a moral defense for that lack of care instead of to provide evidence in canon that he does care, you have misunderstood what i said.

you've cherry picked this reblog of my post which is your prerogative, but it is interesting to note that when i replied to this reblog asking the op both why they pretend to agree with what i said while completely undermining my point with this desire to clear zuko's good name from bad brother accusations and to show me a single moment wherein zuko actually demonstrated any kind of care for azula, they didn't even try.

i'm not interested in if zuko is morally good. i'm not saying that him being a bad brother doesn't make sense. i'm not even saying that i wouldn't find it interesting to see azula and zuko mend fences one day. but i am saying that he is a bad brother in that he fundamentally doesn't care about azula as his sister and expresses zero desire to be her brother and i have yet to see a single person offer proof that says otherwise.