The Elements

She’s gone through a lot of trauma. Some of it got dug up. Her friends pushed her on it. Of course she’s going to lash out in some way. Of course she’s going to say regrettable things. You can’t expect someone in this position to behave entirely perfectly.

I think that’s why large portions of this fandom hate her for this. Katara is often a deeply caring and compassionate character, so she’s treated even more harshly when she deviates at all from that image. Especially since she’s female and we’re expected to be passive and put our feelings aside for others at all times.

It means even more to me since I’ve experienced this a lot. I’ve had people I considered friends completely abandon me for not being a perfect victim and reacting badly to trauma I was actively experiencing. I’ve had family call me a monster for things I said in anger while they were questioning sexual abuse I’d suffered. I had yet another group of friends abandon me because I wasn’t passive and demure while telling off a man for using the same misogynistic rhetoric used against me while I was abused and trying to seek justice for it.

Just… I don’t care what Katara said that episode. She could have punched one of them in the face and I’d still defend her to the death. I’m so sick of being expected to take everything lying down.

I’m so frustrated because they came so close to creating an interesting political plot here but failed miserably and instead opted to further destroy Azula’s character because they weren’t creative enough to build up an original villain. But I think Ukano, who was barely present in the original show, could be built up into a great villain and here’s why.

Ukano would be a different kind of villain than we’ve seen in the original ATLA series

Most of the main villains in the series (Ozai, Zhao, Azula, etc.) relied on physical power and military might. The central suspense factor was the question of Aang’s ability to become powerful enough to fight Ozai.

But what about an enemy that isn’t physically intimidating? One who can’t be faced head on?

We don’t know much about Ukano, but he doesn’t appear to be a firebender. He’s also from a prominent family and holds decent political sway despite this. How did he get there? How does he maintain his influence? Ukano would be the perfect opportunity to create a villain who holds a different kind of power. Rather than brute force, he’s sly and cunning. He won’t fight anyone outright, but he’ll use politics and manipulation to achieve his ends.

I think this would be an especially interesting villain for Zuko to face, since he’s very confrontational and impulsive. Ukano in this scenario would force him to adjust to his political role as Fire Lord and deal with conflicts more carefully.

Ukano has a solid motivation

Ukano was the governor of Omashu, and obviously, he’ll lose that position when Zuko comes into power.

The comics show him as sympathetic to Ozai but don’t do much with it. In fact, he turns out to be Azula’s puppet. I think it would be a much more solid and interesting motivation for Ukano to resent Zuko for stripping him of his title and position by ending the war.

It’s also a good opportunity to address this mindset in the Fire Nation since he’s probably far from the only one angry at Zuko for this reason.

This would provide a great opportunity for Mai’s character development

We know next to nothing about the relationship between Mai and her father. There’s a brief line in The Beach touching on how Mai was very restricted in her childhood because of Ukano’s political career and the need for good optics. But ultimately, this is never really shown or explored further.

But in this case, there would be room to dig into that dynamic. Explain more about Mai and her childhood. Ukano could very well attempt to use Mai’s relationship with Zuko to get closer and manipulate him. It could also expand more of the idea of Mai being torn between duty to her family and doing what she knows to be right.

Great opportunity for personal drama

I’ll try to keep shipper goggles to a minimum but there are so many interesting possibilities here, especially in regards to how Mai fits in.

What if Mai decides she’s not interested in courting Zuko? Either because she feels like her father’s pawn or because she’s interested in someone else? How would Ukano react to this?

What if Zuko courts Katara someone other than Mai? Would Ukano try to sabotage it? Would this force his hand in some way?

How would Ukano feel about other cultures having influence in the Fire Nation via Zuko’s friends and allies? What might he do to disrupt this?

And probably even more. In addition to politics, there is plenty of room for some juicy drama.