What was the original backstory with Ursa before the comics came out? I’ve never been super happy with the comic version (ie Ursa choosing to forget her old life and kids) so I’m curious what the original idea was. Thank you very much, this blog is amazing in the amount of work you put in and continue to put in!
You’re welcome! Thanks for your support!
Ursa’s original backstory is fairly vague, but her entry describes her as being royalty who was matched with Ozai, rather than a peasant who was essentially kidnapped to become part of a eugenics experiment. In an interview with Avatar Spirit Dot Net, Bryke also talked a bit about some of the ideas behind the presentation in the cartoon:
Did Ursa and Ozai choose each other or were they an arranged marriage?
MDD: I imagine they are arranged, but we have not talked about it. We have talked in general about the Fire Nation and that arranged marriages would be more common, especially in the royalty.
BK: Also, there was a time when it probably wasn't such a bad marriage. I think they probably started okay. Certainly better than it ended up.
