Overanalyzing Avatar: Zuko Alone 

Did you copy this comment from me? 😂

Also that the field he crosses through with the large circular rocks and a square hole in the middle is the same one in which Avatar Wan died in Legend of Korra.

"the Gaang" tho

And so he did

@@taylorfrench6722 Oh wow, had no idea about that one, nice catch!

I did the same about my grandfather, because my father spoke badly about him. And I was around the same age, so yes, it fits quite well.

@@SirMarshalHaig Did you say that your grandfather wasn’t the strongest fire lord

I feel so validated that literally everyone picked up on this. By the way, name another show that does this level of character writing so well and in such a way that thousands of people pick up on it and get it. Name one! Other than Game of Thrones seasons 1-4.

Yeah. Kids repeat what they hear at home, ask any teacher.

exactly often children of wealthy parents are the same in that they learn how to get what they want and are never required to change as a person

Luckily he had Iroh when he came back from the war!

Azula=Evil

@@shreyas5737 sherlock

@@variedadesonline3926 also yes

@@variedadesonline3926 His statement is completely necessary since the fanbase is filled with azula apologists

Bet you $5 that Zuko likes his unscarred half better though.

@@assordante2205 you'd win that bet

Maybe they weren’t meant to be a “good and bad” thing, but just two halves of a whole. Two parts of him that make him, him.

"Hot take" i see what ya did there

That makes sense, but I never saw it as which half got scarred, but as the scar itself. The scar is a physical manifestation of the cruelty of the fire nation. Not that Zuko's scared half is his bad half, but the scar itself being a symbol of his bad half, because it was created by cruelty, intolerance, and abuse.

That's really the only thing I didn't like about the comics. Yeah it makes sense that she changes her face, that's cool, but then to forget about her children and name?

@@6thgraderfriends she wanted to forget the abuse she suffered under Ozai. She asked if she would remember them, but was told that since they were technically apart of those bad memories, she wouldn't. She was also remorseful about forgetting them (she even said both their names during that instead of just Zuko's)

@@6thgraderfriends honestly that whole plotline in the comics felt rushed and a little off

@@6thgraderfriends I agree. Abuse is a strong motivator for escape, justifiably; however I never though Ursa would leave without her children. Many times people stay in abusive relationships for their kids or loved ones. The only thing I can think of is Ursa started dissociating from her life as a coping mechanism. As her life began to feel less like her's and less real, she became more okay with leaving because what was real is her past with her lover.

I thought of her line as more of a regret and telling Zuko not to commit the same mistake she did when she gave up her whole life and herself to marry the fire lord. Going to the Mother of Faces was returning to 'herself' for her.

HOLY SHIT I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT

This always bugged me. The stages of the moon is a cycle, yet it always seems to be full when they need it. Seems highly unlikely to me

Holy shit that's genius.

No

ehh. Except that the stages of the moon is a 1:1:1 split between the positions of the moon, the sun, and the Earth. That would mean that Yue is up there making all the cosmos her bitch.

Yeah, it reminds the viewer that this is a nation of citizens raised in an era of propaganda. There’s no reason for Ursa not to have been raised pro-war and there’s nothing that shows she has any righteous concern for the other nations, she just cares about her son.

@@RafilaWanshe’s like Pamela Voorhees.

If I might quote an incredibly minor line from a great novel, "the cruelty of children will surprise no one"

I do think so much of this is from her dad, but we should take into account that she was just born like this too.

Yup I agree with you. I didn't have a problem with the characterization either. The intent of the episode was to focus on zukos backstory, and I think they were implying that azula is mostly mimicking her father and trying to win approval/acceptance. The desire for acceptance and approval by the fire lord and her father was her motivation. She was the prodigy and was under constant pressure from a young age. Seemed like she treats her friends poorly because she feels like she has to be better than them to be accepted

You also have to factor that these are flashbacks from Zuko's PoV. So the scenes with Azula may not have gone down exactly as what is being presented.

​@@madcap3450So what you're sayin is... KIDS ARE CRUEL, JACK!

THANK YOU

If you look REAL close, you can see it has a chunk taken from it when Zuko lifts it for his throw. Bread

that's a good take!

I think Azula is supposed to be mentally ill. Like she literally doesn’t seem to have empathy

@@nerdking1019 I think its petty much confirmed she is a pshychopath yeah

I was looking for a comment like this, cuz I also think the Azula we see is more how Zuko remembers her, painted with how she is now. I also think Ozai started training her and feeding her psychotic mental state from a very young age, which probably doesn't help. (Also I think the type of stuff Azula pulls is not far off from high intelligent psychopath kids)

@@theknight1573 it seems more in this episode less she’s a bad person and more age doesn’t know better. She clearly likes Zuko since she is seen happily playing with him. But she may not know how to care for a person

Good counter agument.

Damn. This is a great fucking comment.

Isn't there a theory that she could be a psychopath, ie. a medical dissability issue causing her to completely lack empathy? That is at least how I explain it and as you very well worried it that she hasn't entirely learned to be subtle about yet.

@@jihidi4360 she isn’t completely empathic, I’ve heard someone with that condition speak and that’s not her. She’s been shown to care just look at the beach episode, whenever she comforts Zuko or tries to get him out of the house because of the bad memories

The way you described it... young Azula's behavior makes a lot more sense. She was so drastic because she _wants_ her behavior noticed, especially by Ozai. It's an interesting concept, and it makes some sense, I think.

She has Zuko as an example of what her dad would do if something isn't "perfect" enough. Azula is unironically afraid of her father, unlike Zuko, who's a friggin' badass overcoming his fear for him. But for Azula, she's afraid... (read the chronicles) She honestly believes he would scar her for even a small step out of line. Yet she still believes he'd be the last person to abandon her (well, he was the last, and he did). That would break most people tbh

True

Speaking of games - she even takes the beach volleyball game so seriously she has to utterly destroy her opponents and sees it as not only DISHONORABLE to lose but SHAMEFUL. These concepts mirror Iroh's teachings about the same topics.

"a really small thing"

​​@@sifuhotman1300 This also reinforces the old saying "love doesn't make people loyal, fear does." When Zuko conquered his fear, any shred of loyalty left him as well.

I remember reading a comment about the master swordsman Sokka learned from taught Zuko swordsmanship as well. Iroh being a white lotus member set it up. Not 100% if that’s true but sounds legit

@@Juju-co8ys It would definitely make sense since Piandao was a White Lotus member; not to mention, Zuko does feature a lot of the techniques Piandao mentions while training Sokka, especially the part about the sword being an extension of the body (which really any weapon should be).

@@theprogram3 In one of the comics, Zuko actually says that he trained with Piandao for years prior to his banishment.

@@darthfenrir7773 That actually makes sense, because ozai hated how zuko was weak for a royal fire bender. He probably wanted to make zuko a skillful fighter in other areas.

@@jackanderson368 I don't actually think Ozai would sanction that. Firebending is so important to the royal family and Zuko taking to learning how to use a blade like a common soldier would probably come off as another point of shame for Ozai. I think it's more likely Iroh saw he was struggling with bending and wanted to inspire some confidence in him, and got him in touch with Piandao.

on the last episode he's gotta have a tally of all the things he's counted

Yeah I'm hoping for quite some counters as well, varying from moon continuity, to staff loss counter to... Just lots of numbers and maybe some definitive tier list and or rankings. :)

YASSSSSS

Hopefully…

I hightly doubt that. She ADORED her father to the point of the only real fear in her life was being rejected by him. That is why she is screaming "you can't treat my like Zuko" when he abadoned her. She had no one that loved her or cared for her...other than her father..or at least so she believed. Obviously he couldn't care less about her. He saw her as nothing but a tool but for her he was the only person she believed to have a bond with. All of her friends were only her friends because she controlled them through fear and when she lost them she lost the only other people in her life she cared about..other than her father. (And Zuko to some exstend though she would never admit it) She wouldn't be able to assasinate him because his praise was the only thing that motivated her.

@@bibbobella Love from Azula? she only knows about using fear to manipulating others into getting what you want. She learn his values, to be ruthless and self-serving. She learned from him it's okay to commit regicide, so why wouldn't she do the same to take a higher place on the hierarchy

@@teamesh Because she doesn't care about the hierarchy. She takes on the role as firelord because it is given to her by her father not because she actually truely wants it. When Zuko becomes the firelord in the comics she doesn't try to steal the throne. Instead she tries to make him into a "better" firelord. She doesn't fight for her country or even for herself..she fights to make her dad proud..that is the only thing she wants. When she is cast aside by her father she doesn't get upset about losing a chance to better herself or do something for her country. She is upset because it was an idea she had hoped to share with the only person she looks up to so he would praise her. Everything she does throughout the show is to impress her dad. Attacking the avatar? for her dad. Taking over the earth kingdom? Helping good old daddio win the war. The only time we ever see her actually act indepedent of her dad is when she tries to help Zuko later in the series despite having tried to kill him before. She is a 14 year old kid that just wants the love of her parents but ended up being shaped into a monster by a parent she adores. She literally stayed back to face all of team Avatar while having NO BENDING just to buy her dad some more time while the invasion was going. What did she win by that? Absolutely nothing but the potential praise from the firelord. Everything she does is motivated by her father's aproval and "love" so why in the world would she kill the one person that she believes can give her what she is so badly lacking?

@@bibbobella I mean given the fire nation propaganda she and all fire nation children were taught from a young age and her little speech to LongFeng about "the divine right to rule" I think she believes in hierarchies. she also called katara a peasant, which obviously means she thinks she's better than other people because she's royalty. The fire nation's fire bending philosophy at the time has some tinge of motivation that's based on hate and anger towards the other nations and feeling a sense of moral superiority other them. "Sharing their greatness with the rest of the world" was just a moral justification for their imperialism and colonialism to "manifest destiny" She's upset when ozai told her to stay back and be fire lord because she was just betrayed by mai and ty lee, who she thought she could trust by manipulating them by using fear to control them. Their betrayal cause her to doubt who she can trust and keep in her own control. I'm not going to say she doesn't seek validation from ozai, but that's really not the same thing as loving him, so much as her feeling insecure bc Ozai sets up conditional approval of his relationship based on those who can be tools for his goals. I don't think her definition of love is the same thing as normal people bc of her upbringing by him. like we can saw during the beach episode how besides war and conquest, she has no other personal life or social skills that don't involve her furthering fire nation conquest. My point was that if aang had failed and ozai had somehow won, eventually azula would learn the same lessons from ozai about how other people are just tools, so once ozai outlives his usefulness like if he started getting old or got in the way of her plans, she'd probably throw him away like Ozai did to Azulon. Ozai basically taught her doing heinous things like poisoning your father was acceptable, that other people's live don't matter, only your own personal goals do, and that you should be willing to sacrifice them for those goals of control, power, and conquest. Would I like to see Azula change? Yes, I don't think anybody should just give up a 14 year old child just because she was immersed in a fascist culture and she deserved better roles models in her life like Iroh was to Zuko. But again, bc she was taught by Ozai, and bc of that I don't think her definition of "love" is unconditional like the way Sokka and Katara have with their dad.

@@bibbobella you hit it on the head imo

It’s honestly kinda unsettling…

@@shreyas5737 even Ursa had chills, _"What is wrong with that child?"_

Azulon*

Sozin did not want to share his prosperity, the first thing he did was commit genocide

Power corrupts many of its holders

While the family clearly spiralled after Sozin passed, I'm not buying that he started his campaign for world domination with good intentions. He just gave a nice sounding sales pitch to the avatar. Still Roku instantly caught on to what Sozin was proposing and refused to hear it.

​@@Artryom I think he meant Azula. He spoke of the increase in cruelty with new generations.

Agreed Its why she was favored by dad, the dude running the throne Cuz the throne inspires these thoughts in the eyes of the fire nation the last 100 years

She also has a bonafide mental illness. Aside from ursa's questions of "what is wrong with that child?" We also full on see her hallucinating in the finale. Plus in the comics we see even more of how mentally disturbed she is as she has constant hallucinations and is convinced killing her mother will make them stop

Or she's sociopathic

As a survivor of parental abuse, Azula seems like a textbook survivor who never escaped and was forced to internalize all the abuse.

And to add it seems clear that on top of a terrible role model, much of the show implies that Azusa has behavioral health issues. Even in the flash back Zuko calls he “sick”. Possibly built off of years of examples. The show seems to present Azusa as a sociopath, which is why she doesn’t seem “human” or subtle.

@@GumpusRex The video I mention diagnoses her as having a Machiavellian personality, rather than outright antisocial personality disorder, as she cares about people's opinions of her, whereas a truly antisocial person would not care, except possibly for a very small collection of individuals who were important to them for a very long time. (For Azula, this would probably be Ozai exclusively). It's long, but I highly recommend the video - it does a very thorough analysis of the character from a psychological perspective, and is written by a person who has at least some psychology training. (There's one video where he mentions his work with a suicide prevention hotline or something along those lines - these are not services that you help with without getting some training.) Thus his analysis is far more insightful than mine.

This. Part of what makes Azula a somewhat pitiable character for me is the fact that she really didn't have a choice about the person she would become. And by the time she's old enough to make informed choices about the world, her world view has already been set into stone.

Yeah this is it.

The video being referenced is "The Psychology of Azula" by Hello Future Me.

Children that are that sadistic learn it from adults with years of experience.

@@ussliberty109 that's not correct. children have less filter. a mean kid is sadistically mean. I'm guessing you didn't meet a lot of bullies in your life.

Hmm

and one season later "Oww ow ow and there goes the entire [_] avatar cycle Jes-"

Another season later: “There goes korra’s motivation and ability to do basic human functions.”

@@Flome810 And the Finale, Now all Future Avatars only have Korra to go with for guidance.

@@silverhawkscape2677 The worst possible avatar to talk to about guidance.

@@Flome810 I disagree. Overcoming adversity builds wisdom.

Yeah thought the same but I guess you can argue that it's just short for the woolly pigs. But to unravel this case we should examine all evidence pointing towards or against it so, good point has been noted. Also the Pigster kinda makes me think about the emblem of the Beifongs but if I look it up it says that there symbol is the Flying Boar. I'm actually not sure whether he mentioned this in the previous episode where we meet Toph (He probably did now I think about it) But it hints at normal boars, maybe making in term "normal pigs more likely". (Also if you type in woolly pigs you find pictures of real pigs with so much hair they seem woolly, further supporting the theory that the woolly pigs are just normal pigs.

​@@benjaminparent4115 Yeah sure all of this is overanalyzing but that's why we are here. But yeah your point kinda puts all debate to rest, as by definition using 2 animal names for a mix breed of animals would mean that the individual animals exist or once existed. At least if there is one crossover (where 1 animal (for example pig) is used in conjunction with another animal. Otherwise you could argue that they are all just names that just by chance is the same as the combo of 2 real life names. But yeah in reality the combined names is of course because they are crossbreeds and the names tell us what was crossbred/ imagined. But you could go more meta if you say that ATLA story about its events and world was written down or shared over generations. And as English (or...) is used in these episodes, comics,... You could argue that the names they gave the animals aren't the real original names but the best description they had for how the animals where described or... It's a long stretch sure, but it's actually what Tolkien did with Lotr and his other works. Hence why how farther back in time the stories go the more mythical they are and all names are translated to English. So all names you read in lotr (beside the Elven and Dwarven ones) are the English translation of the Westron (the common tongue of Middle Earth in the 3rd Age) As Tolkien had his books in his head as if he found those works and just translated them to English. As it was his attempt to make myths for England as most if not all of the English myths and stories got lost or replaced with Viking and Christian stories. And Tolkien was a philologist from profession. So yeah I somehow managed to not only ramble on after overanaylzing about avatar but about Tolkien as well. I’ll just consider it a skill rather than a handicap. Anyway if you read any of it have a good day.

Yeah but there’s three kinds of “pigs” on the farm. They can totally still use “pigs” as a term to describe them.

​@@YOUFREAKINNERD Yeah but it implies they all have some common route or appearance. So there is a pig and these are not just pigs but a combination of that with another animal. But it is known which parts are similar to that of a pig and which aren't. But yeah the pig could have died out or evolved and they still could use those names. Or there could be no common ancestor but just have common up with he word pig to describe the similarity between those 3 animals.

@@Mahfireballs well not neccesarily there is no animal just called ant there are black ants, bullet ants, weaver ants but not plain ants because thats the name attributed to the family of animals not a single animal

Azula is definitely a Sociopath, she's emulating her father because he praises her so much for acting like himself. Children will do anything to earn praise from someone they look up to, even if the rest of the world looks down upon those sort of actions. For example, let's take a young child that's around 7 or 8 years old and place them in a family of assassins or murderers, if the child is praised for killing others by their family, that child will do so and do their best to become even better at killing to gain more praise. But if you took that same child and placed them in a family that seeks to make peace with the world and praises the child if she/he finds peaceful solutions to their problems. The child will do their best to always find a peaceful solution. Granted there are some, albeit extremely rare, cases where a child won't want to emulate their family. Like some children decide to break the cycle, but this is almost always caused by an outside influence that shows the child a different path

I think it was in one of the comics that take place after the series. They're actually super good and I strongly recommend them.

They skirt around actually saying it in the show because saying she KILLED someone was taboo for Nickelodeon, but it is STRONGLY implied in Day of Black Sun that Ursa killed Azulon

"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son, and I was going to do it. Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne, so she proposed a plan; a plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared. Your mother did vicious treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason she was banished." - Ozai (The Day of Black Sun)

I dont think Ursa could kill Azulan Unless it was the day of black sun, but again It was a night time assassination So not the eclipse Ursa took the blame Ozai would have and the punishment

@@donovanulrich348 no ursa poisoned azulon

I think that's probably when he learned "in our family, things aren't always what they seem"

Flashback*

He wouldn’t regret it

Well, it wouldn't be unrealistic for a would-be cruel child showing vague tendencies within a loving family, I think, but when a child has a parent like Ozai? Yeah, the more I think about it, blunt cruelty makes sense.

I agree with the original comment, I think she’s not mature enough yet to be that subtle.

this is zuko pre banishment / scar, and before so azula would be well under 10 along with zuko only being around 12 or younger

Realism does not equal good. They're trying to tell an interesting story and having one-dimensional characters does not help with that.

Children that age would gleefully inform their siblings they're about to be murdered?

Its almost like Zuko Alone XD They had it planned from the beginning Zuko would turn good

Interesting it's almost as if Zuko is alone in this episode

Gosh if I were crazy I'd say it's because Zuko is alone but that's a bit far fetched

Zuko by himself

So zuko is by himself , a lone wolf , it’s only him it’s solo

^^^^^^^^ And the other means of keeping the sticks is heat treating them But that usually blackens the stick and grey after you water log it and heat it the last time

Do NOT look up what a centipede is my guy

It sounds a little more fake, and would also prompt them into asking for a family name so they can differentiate him from their son so 'hey Lee' doesn't confuse them as to who they mean. Zuko's also a melodramatic & more then a little paranoid teen so those mild concerns are way bigger in his head too.

He could have used an alternative name for Jasmine or some other tea type, because of Iroh, which could have later on worked for the tea shop.

Zuko didnt give himself a family name (last name) So Lee is a passable lie Lee who would come up in a conversation of Lee's

Zuko would find a way to make it awkward

@@IamlordEVIL yeah, good poi- *flashback* "He is named after his father, so we just call him Junior!" *end of flashback* oh god

I know! I thought for sure he'd mention that. But then again, we already knew it so maybe it's not secret enough for OA-tier observations. He can also bring it up when we get there, I suppose

He'll probably mention it when he gets there. He said that's how he'll deal with most payoffs.

Feels more like analysis than over-analysis. Even as a kid on my first viewing I noticed that.

Aren't there even more moments at which you can see them? I have a feeling they were in some background earlier as well

@@theknight1573 Someone above (Hilary Major in the first answer to gazerbeam) mentioned they can be seen on the train in Ba Sing Se which is correct I think (Yeah they sit next to Iroh and Zuko). Actually if you google ATLA pregnant the first page is: "Ying Avatar wiki fandom" and she has her own page so does her husband Than. And there is listed in which episodes they appear, apparently Yin appears in 5 episodes and Than in 6. And they only have lines in the Serpent Pass and Ying says something in the Drill. The 6th episode Than appears in and Ying doesn't is The Tales of Ba Sing Se. So yeah the wiki is pretty good as far as I have seen being correct and extensive, and it has some pretty cool trivia. (I haven't really checked any of their info but I haven't seen anything contradicting what I know over the ~50 (or whatever number over 20) pages I have looked up and read (partly). avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Ying avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Than

Unless he sent him to master Piando And the fire lords son would be a worthy candidate to learn from him, like Sakka was Hakotta's son leader of the water tribe

I cant agree with Ozai's actions in banishing Zuko But i do understand he felt betrayed he could kill his father for his son But his son would speak out against a decent plan they always do

I think at the time the episode was written they weren't sure what to do with Ozai's character and probably considered the possibility he did love Ursa

@@craigpeoples9883 that's interesting. Either way, I like that character moment. I haven't read any of the comics yet, I'm saving up to get them, but I've heard some interesting things about their family post-war

@@craigpeoples9883 I don't think he loooved her but I do think he cared about her somewhat, especially at the beginning of their marriage ("Well but I've read the comics and-" [GUNSHOT])

@@Anonymous_Gambito I don't think he cared about her in any natural way, BUT he did care about controlling her and, let's be real, he can banish her all he wants, he's always in danger if she's alive and free

Personally I don’t think ever he loved Ursa, he probably just hated Zuko more than anything, it’s a really interesting theory tho

I kinda thought the theming of the story was stronger for making Ozai as bad a dude as possible. Over and over, we're shown bad people who are given a second chance and grow into better people. It starts with Iroh, who we like when we meet because he's already grown into a good person before the series. From the very start, we're shown that people deserve second chances. The gang has the chance to kill Zuko, who's done almost nothing but hurt them, but saving him allows him the time he needs to go on his journey. Their eventual win is largely thanks to him. Jet goes through a lot of ups and downs, but in the end, the gaang letting him live and giving him second chances is what reunites Aang with Appa. So when we get to Azula and Ozai, two horrible, manipulative, dangerous people, the show asks the question: "what about them? Do we really believe people should have a second chance?" That's why it's such a big deal for Aang, and why the show goes so hard on it. It's one of the central themes of the whole story. If you believe that people can get better, or at least that they deserve the chance to get better if you have the power to give it to them, even if they're as bad as it gets, do you give it to them?

What? Was it not believable?? I disagree with his notion that an imperialistic monarch can be good in any sense of the word, but the core idea that nationality or ethnicity don’t define whether you are good or bad is absolutely true not only in the show but obviously in real life.

@Gabriella Maroney True. The conflict was said to be a hundred years old not since the beginning of records.

@@Dell-ol6hb Here is the thing. Aang said Roku and Sozin';s story is proof anyone can be good or evil. But Roku did *nothing* evil in the story. All he did was try to stop the war and that was his job anyway as the Avatar. So how does prove he was anymore evil than Sozin? Also, they try to spin by saying Roku was Fire Nation and was a good guy, thus proving Fire Nation people can good. Except was the Avatar. How does that role *not* define Roku as a good person?

I think the show was quite subtle when it came to Azula. The whole point was to make Azula seem like this hyperintelligent, apathic, cold, calculating, dangerous, Machiavellian, egotistic, detestable monster. Truly the powerhouse villain used throughout the show. As a kid I found her to be super creepy and wholeheartedly agreed when Iroh told Zuko that: "She's crazy and she needs to go down." This coming from the wise old man who gave even Zuko, at his worst moments, plenty of chances. If even Iroh didn't find it in him to be merciful towards her... In this aspect, the show succeeded. Azula became a monster, the audience saw her as the monster she believed herself to be. Now the subtle part is that Azula always lies, even to herself and that what may seem to be, doesn't mean that it is. I've seen the show, read the comics, read the chronicles etc. Azula did in fact care about Zuko, she brought him back home not because some ploy but simply because she wanted him back home. She had to give herself excuses though... The return of Zuko meant the return of the crownprince, she even joked about Zuko needing to show his "good side" when he would get his painting made. Azula didn't give a shit about power for the sake of power but because Ozai expected that of her and she can't afford losing his approval. If not Ozai, who could accept the monster? Zuko? For it is towards Zuko, even despite Zuko being a dick towards her (can't blame him) that she shows kindness too, even if she's reluctant to admit it... Denies it... Or bluntly admits it, even if Zuko doesn't believe it (can't blame him). All in all, Azula is not a psychopath. She can be psychotic but honestly Zuko can be too... I mean, who goes screaming at the stormclouds on top of a mountain after your attempt to redirect lightning failed because the lightning that would either bend or kill you didn't show up. That was pretty much 50/50 suicide. He would succeed or he would die. The evident anger issues, bro... The creators planned to give Azula a redemption arc in season 4 where she would hit her lowest point, only for Zuko to reach out to her, finally someone to actually reach out to her, for if not Zuko, who else? Is it not Zuko that would understand her best? Who else to know the importance of a second chance (dozens of chances)? Azula and Zuko are very similar, despite one being an idiot and the other a genius. They're emotionally abused, socially awkward, cringe inducing edgelords who had to wear masks their entire lives for their father. Let's give them a break. Firelord Zuko could use her genius, ruling a post-war Fire Nation... And Azula could use someone who'd actually care about her.

That could also be true either way in my opinion I think azula being cruel as a child would make sense

But Ozai and Ursa and Iroh are accurate to how we know them. It'd be weird for Azula to be the only exaggerated element. It's tough to swallow but kids can just be assholes like that. Especially ones being groomed for war by tyrannical despots. Ozai was trying to mold her into his perfect little war machine. How could we expect her to be anything close to normal?

She's crazy.

Facts

How about NO

@@Barakon Uhh, care to elaborate?

@@humphreygobo6576 I don’t think Iroh would be the person to chain up on3 of kids, maybe he did something else that’s messed up, but not THAT.

@@Barakon Not Iroh, Zuko when he's old in Legend of Korra. Really, that was meant to be a joke but Zuko was willing to keep his father and sister locked in a cage so I don't think it's outside the realm of possibilities.

I like to think that Zuko's family line was balanced by him. Ursa is the descendant of Avatar Roku, leading Zuko back to Aang and some general goodness as such. They're connected, they always have been since before Zuko was even born, let alone banished and sent to find him. It makes sense that someone who is the direct descendant of both Sozin (through Ozai) and Roku (through Ursa) would be a very conflicted person inside. Just as Roku and Sozin were once friends, Zuko had to make peace with both halves of himself, the Zuko who is the son of the fire lord and heir to the throne as he says, and the Zuko who we see helping people and refusing to rob an expecting couple for food. To cap things off, Zuko finds where he's meant to be at the end of the story when he's crowned as fire lord. He's helped the Avatar and friends to end the war that his own country was perpetuating on the whole world, and only sits on that throne when peace and balance has been restored, not just to the world, but to Zuko. I could go further but this is long already.

Maybe azulon had an older brother who took the throne when sozin died

I agree, the time scale doesn't make much sense, or at least from our perspective. Avatar Kyoshi did live to be 230, so maybe this world has different life expectancies? At least for powerful individuals? Either way, a good explanation is never given or hinted at.

@@willlewis6622 lmao the timescale regarding Kyoshi is even worse. In episode 4 it was stated that she died over 300 years ago...this gets confusing the more you think about it. It’s heavily implied in the show that Kyoshi was the Avatar before Roku, and Roku died a little over 100 years before the start of the series. It’s also heavily implied that the Avatar is reincarnated immediately after death. For the 300 years statement to add up, should we assume that Roku was around 200 years old when he died?

Also if Sozin was already old when Roku died and the war started, how old was Sozin when Azulon was born!?

@@anrick1362 Also in the season 1 finale Koh the face stealer said that one of Aang’s past lives tried to kill him 800 or 900 years ago. I’m assuming that it was Avatar Kurig since he lost his wife, because of Koh. Since Kurig became before Kyoshi that would make it probably closer to 400-500 years.

Holy shit that's some good shit right there, you're absolutely right

I figured his eyes were grey in the North Pole because of the reflections of the frozen wasteland in front of him, and also because his inner fire is going out due to the cold.

I always assumed Zuko had eyes like mine XD My gold band in my eye can be razor thin and take up the rest of my blue color at times Emotion, environment and mental state are factors

Damn that would be a sad theory, I feel like that’s the best timeline for Zuko

And as mentioned above, the reason she's so obviously evil in Zuko's flashback is that she's mimicking her father's lessons and behavior without any of the nuance her father, and later she, uses to disguise it because she's still a child.

That's just how kids, and often many adults, act in general. If they think they can get away with breaking the rules/the law, they will do so. Unless someone has an extremely strict moral compass, that's just how the human psyche is

Or how long a full moon might last... huh interestijg take, I will think about this

A full moon every other day would make waterbenders incredibly powerful.

@@doghat1619 Which would explain why the Fire Nation was intent on wiping out two small tribes isolated on blocks of ice that didn't have anything of value known to them (I don't think the Fire Nation knew about the oil reserves yet). A big naval force consisting of master waterbenders would wreck most of the Fire Nation's Navy. Remember that the Fire Nation is mostly a Naval force.

Or just straight up multiple moons.

I mean, if we're going by Earth rules, the polar sequences make no sense. We see a regular day night cycle. On Earth, days and nights last half a year on the poles. Which I always interpreted as the poles in the avatar world not being on the planetary poles, but being artificially cold because of spirit something something

Well, in my opinion nothing goes over Tale of Iroh. But this is an insanely strong episode and I won't argue very much. It's a little like the storm with it's flashbacks and the beach with it's resignation and aim to find a goal.

Agreed

My personal favourite is The Southern Raiders, the only time Katara used bloodbending other than when she had to. Even a good person can do cruel things out of hatred. And you know the loving motherly character that Katara is...

@@hellboy19991 who asked tho

@@drunkkillerwhalesdriving It's a comment about being objective by being subjective in nature.

I always liked that theme between the two. It makes a lot of sense if you think about but yes I agree with you.

I like this take, because I kinda thought the same when I was watching the movie. Azula just followed and parroted her father more than her mother, so the writers are using Azula to allow us to see Ozai - although we see his character directly during the talk with Sozin, when he wanted him to revoke his eldest brother's birthright so he can be the new emporor. In other words, the writers are using Azula to see Ozai's influence on the children, and it gives us a reason why Zukko loves and remembers his mother more. It is just another method to go about dealing with the story. It also shows a different angle of attachment between parents, since we only see Zukko's side, it seems that he forgets every advice or kindness he received from Ozai (except one when he was very young), and we almost never get to see Ozai talking with Zukko from his memories, but we always get to see Ozai and his influence through Azula's treatment of Zukko, almost like the writers wanted Azula to be the one giving "Ozai advice" because it compounds the problems with Ozai's character and allows not only the audience to scoff at the terrible and twisted pleasure that Azula receives from her learned experience with her father, but for Zukko to despise it as well because of what he sees in his sister. So we can follow along in Zukko's journey and see for ourselves why Zukko dislikes his father's advice - and his sister. So Azula's over-the-top display of twisted cruelty could be taken in many different ways.

Yeah The Storm would work better in that regard as it sets up all the stuff that is further explored here

@@jeffreylaporte6525 the storm is a solid one. I also think Blind Bandit, since most of the setup you need to understand it is the opening exposition, and the way they introduced Toph really does get the tone of the show across incredibly well

​@@wulfywulfynrir1296The blind bandit is basically what got me into this show in the first place

Well it is especially considering this was a show made for western/usa audience, so the target audience knows the Western genre better than the Samurai genre they come from. But valid comment considering the setting and similarities between ATLA and asian/eastern cultures. And indeed something worth mentioning in an Overanalyzing episode. But if I do a quick search google says that both the Western and Samurai genre influenced each other as they were rather contemporary. And both used tropes which had long been common in Europe like the idea of a Knight Errant saving a Damsel and or Japanese culture like the idea of the Ronin as protagonist as often depicted or written over the centuries. And many other tropes shared and unique. So should mention both.

And weirdly enough the Japanese influences in westerns were introduced by Italians, hence the term “Spaghetti Western.”

Agreed such an odd take. Feels like he doesn’t really do research. More just opinions.

@@Slender_Man_186 that is not true. they were mostly shot in Italy because it was cheaper. spaghetti western were still set in US and usually with American leads

Would also explain why she disliked Iroh so much, like you mention in 11:20. If he's been treating her as an afterthought for years, like Ursa, why wouldn't she be a brat to him?

And again, at 16:52, we see Azula with the knife, implying that she would have really liked a knife instead of a doll. It all boils down to Azula's jealousy at Zuko having a strong support group within the family.

I often think of Zuko´s line in the end of season 1 when he has Aang captive and talks about how everyone loves Azula. I think she could have said something similar about Zuko, how everyone preferred him over her, with only her father being more interested in her. Also Zuko was the firstborn and heir, so even the bootlickers and servants probably treated Zuko differently.