#zuko thoughts

Carried on from here.

Zuko

You angsty, disaster mess. 

Like I said, I went in knowing his backstory/eventual redemption, so that’s coloured my perception.

That said, it’s fascinating how….careful the writers are with him? Like right from the start there have been lines he hasn’t crossed and they’ve limited his proper *villainous actions* (e.g. not killing anyone, keeping to him promise not to massacre the Water Tribe when he captures Aang).

I went in thinking he was the Big Bad, but he really isn’t??? In s1 it’s Zhao and in s2 it’s Azula.

Half his conflict isn’t even with the Gaang, it’s with his own people. 

And the show was so quick to establish he’s surprisingly….good compared to most of the Fire Nation nobles?? Like, as early as episode 3 you have the Zhao/Zuko fight and Zuko fighting honourably while Zhao screws him over.

And that’s all before you hear his backstory, and that he started out wanting to protect people

Then he keeps sort-of teaming up with the Gaang against the Fire Nation – as the Blue Spirit, against Azula etc.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s still this self-absorbed teenager with serious anger management issues 

And Aang, Katara & Sokka have also suffered & aren’t running around hunting people down like he is - he’s done damage & Zuko needs to realise that. It’s a redemption arc, not that he’s been a hero the whole time. 

But it’s not a “oh this villainous character is popular, let’s forget all the bad stuff he did & he can join the team.” He’s laid out to be a lighter shade of grey from the beginning with his own story that isn’t all about defeating the heroes

 Iroh

Ok, I know everyone loves Iroh – and he is hilarious and such a good Dad to Zuko.

And he obviously isn’t committed to the Fire Nation party line, and initially seems blasé about the war.

But…idk

Bc it turns out he was involved in the war previously?? As a general who attacked the Earth Kingdom and was responsible for what hundreds or thousands of deaths??

Maybe he’s changed since then – but he did help attack the Northern Water Tribe?? And enables Zuko to capture Aang’s body?? He doesn’t turn on Zhao until he kills the moon spirit.

Idk, he’s played as this loveable old guy, but as a member of the royal family he is complicit in the Fire Nations actions. He’s not some foot soldier – he’s smart and had power, and you’ve got to wonder why he didn’t try & change things

But we’ll see. Either way he’s a great character.

 Aang/Katara

Not sure this deserves it’s own section, but I’m just not into it sorry 

It’s not that they’re not close or the writers haven’t developed their relationship (they’ve been hitting us over the head with it since ep 1).

The pair just feel so much more like a sister/brother relationship. (Or even a parent-kid thing which is uh, not what you want in a romance).

Like their whole dynamic is Katara mothering Aang, supporting Aang, teaching, counselling, calming him. Aang obviously has his crush but I don’t see that Katara feels the same way. (Apart from her fortune telling her she’ll end up with a great bender).

Idk it doesn’t feel very equal and I want Katara to have a relationship where she doesn’t have to be Team Mum and always the caretaker

 Also the maturity between an 11 yo boy & 14 yo girl is just…massive. Just like…no.

It’s not even that I’m shipping Zuko/Katara (they’ve haven’t interacted that much yet, though their s1 finale fight scene was incredible). If anything I was shipping Haru/Katara

But I know it’s inevitable so not much point bitching really.