Zuko's "kindness" recontextualized in the two war meetings we see him attend is so interesting. While he is genuinely brave as a 13-year-old kid standing up for an entire division being used as sacrificial fodder, he's still an imperialist who has little empathy for the Earth Kingdom populace those soldiers, and the Fire Nation Army is subjugating.
In contrast when he speaks up the next time- albeit subdued and "tamed" because the consequences of speaking up is now known to him-he is speaking admirably of Earth Kingdom populace.
The contention here isn't the method of war harming fire nation soldiers, rather the intent of war aiming complete subjugation and dominance of other people.
He is still applying empathy that he possessed as a child but living as a starved "refugee" in the midst of an oppressed people opened his eye to how the Fire Nation conquest and imperialism is inherently wrong. It won't become right if "cleaner" methods of conquest are applied, or the Fire Lord comes to respect and value his own.
While I love Zuko's story as a "saga of an abused child beginning to heal and forming genuine friendships", I do wish the fandom talked more about the "de-programming of the imperialist prince to becoming an ally of resistance" because there is so much analysis potential there that is unexplored.
