I believe Aang can save the world

Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. Everything changed when the fire-nation attacked…

The Avatar world comprises of four bendings: Air-bending, Fire-bending, Water-bending and Earth-bending. They all coexisted peacefully alongside one another before the fire-nation became greedy and waged war on the other nations, leaving the world in imbalance. It is the duty of the Avatar (Aang), the only person who could master all four elements, to restore balance to the world by defeating the fire-lord.

Lil Zuzu

Zuko is the crown prince of the fire-nation, but a disgraced one. He was banished by his own father, the fire-lord, for just speaking out of turn, which disrespected his father’s authority. To make matters worse, he spoke out of turn because he felt compelled to remind the generals how immoral it was to sacrifice an entire battalion which they were planning to use as bait just to achieve their objectives.

Not only did it leave an emotional scar, the episode left a physical scar as well when his own father challenged him to a duel, leaving a burn mark across his left eye. His mother tried to defend him against the fire-lord’s wrath and was removed from the family and relocated somewhere hidden. Zuko never got to see his mother again. He was subsequently exiled with only his uncle to protect him, dishonoured and betrayed. The only way to regain his honour was to capture the Avatar, which was the biggest threat to the fire-nation. From then on he spend every day and night trying to prove his worth as the crown prince of the fire-nation and searching for the Avatar.

The Spirit of the Blue Spirit.

Zuko donned on the mask of the Blue Spirit and snuck into the cell holding Aang, slashed the chains binding his arms and legs so that Aang could air-bend again, essentially freeing his enemy. He freed the Avatar so he could capture him on his own to regain his honour. His goal was never actually the Avatar. He needed what the Avatar would offer him — the return of his honour.

Iroh saw a prince struggling to find his own identity, “Its time to look inside and ask what is it that YOU want.”.

In Ba Sing Sei, he discovered Appa (the Avatar’s sky bison) in an underground prison. He wanted to capture Appa on his own to bring him one step closer to the Avatar, but Iroh (Zuko’s uncle) managed to stop him in time. Iroh saw a prince struggling to find his own identity, “Its time to look inside and ask what is it that YOU want.”. Zuko eventually decides to free Appa. Climbing out to the surface, Zuko helped his uncle up. He then let the mask of the Blue Spirit into the water, a final send off. That was the end of the Blue Spirit. Zuko set himself back from his goal of capturing the Avatar but morally, was one step closer to becoming a better person. Zuko was not all bad after all.

Katara’s disappointment still rings fresh: “I thought you had changed.”.

An unlikely ally.

In Ba Sing Sei, he was captured by the Dai Li and was put in the crystal catacombs together with Katara (water-bender on Aang’s team). Katara lost her mother to the fire-nation, which she partially blames Zuko for since Zuko’s family was directly responsible of the invasion. Zuko lost his mother to the fire-lord as well. Cinematically this was a win because Katara was able to let her anger out facing Zuko. And just when we thought it was going to be a fight, Zuko showed empathy by apologising for her loss. But when it came to choosing sides, Zuko still chose to fight the Avatar. Katara’s disappointment still rings fresh: “I thought you had changed.”. But at this point, its clear that Zuko was capable of good, that he wasn’t the typical psychopathic villain.

The prince returns.

When Zuko finally returned home after reclaiming his honour when everyone thought he had defeated the Avatar, he quickly realised that it was not what he wanted. You could tell Zuko was unsure of this turn of events. Iroh had always warned him against this path. Perhaps Zuko was guilty of disobeying Iroh since after all, Iroh had been the real and only fatherly figure in his life that truly cared for him like a son. Perhaps part of Zuko knew that all these honour and respect meant nothing without the people he loved around him. In Iroh’s prison cell, Zuko brings a good meal because some part of him knows that he fucked up when he joined back the fire-nation. And when Iroh rejected him, Zuko burst into a fit of rage. Zuko is very confused and frustrated here and takes it out on Iroh. On Ember Island, he thought he was angry at everyone. But then, he realised that he was actually just angry at himself. Its hard to unlearn everything you’ve ever known, the traditions and privileges you grew up with, to become a better person. Of course Zuko is experiencing what he experiences.

一刀两断.

In the Earth Kingdom. Zuko had separated from Iroh because he thought Iroh was dead weight. Its sad because I could tell Zuko was struggling with identity issues and Iroh knew it too. While sharing tea with Toph, he mentions Zuko was “going through a very difficult time. He’s trying to figure out who he is.”.

All the outbursts at Iroh were products of Zuko’s own internal conflict. He couldn’t find the answers and so as a self defence mechanism, pinned the blame on the people around him so he can avoid taking responsibility. This happens so often even in real life when we get frustrated and end up fucking up our relationships with other people because we just can’t take accountability for our own problems. Especially when you’re not really yourself, going through some stuff. That’s why friends who stay at your worst moments are the most precious. Sam Smith sings in Burning: “No friends to turn to, yeah I messed that up.” Its unfortunate but sometimes you really have to make a mistake before you learn to be a better person.

Zuko was an inspiration, the boy looked up to him like a hero.

Who am I?

There are some things that nobody can help you with. Travelling alone actually did Zuko wonders. Zuko disguised himself so nobody knew who he was. He had no immediate goal of pursuing the Avatar and most importantly, he could be exactly who he was, without any expectation or pressure of being somebody else. Here, we see the real Zuko. He stood up for a boy against thugs. He helped them with their labour in exchange for the lodging and food they offered. He even taught the boy to stand up for himself against future bullies. Zuko was less impulsive and entitled. Zuko was an inspiration, the boy looked up to him like a hero. Cinematically, it was obvious his character was undergoing a huge transformation. His soul searching was marked by solemn, calculated decisions. His demeanour turned dark, troubled but more peaceful. After vacillating for so long, its clear here that Zuko was a good person at heart.

Even when he was sure to join the Avatar and gang, he fucked up and accidentally burned Toph’s feet. God damn it Zuko.

What I find relatable about this character was the realness. Zuko was no superhero because he did plenty of bad things. But at the same time, he redeemed himself by finding his own way back to being a good person. Its hard to imagine the things this boy had to go through: his mother was taken from him in the middle of the night; he was forced into exile with nobody to protect him; he was abused by his own father; had to go through his own soul searching journey to unlearn his entire worldview to eventually muster up the courage to betray his family and country by joining Aang.

Zuko’s road to redemption was brilliant because of all the times we thought he had changed but he hadn’t, and all the times we thought he would continue fucking up but he impressed us by handling situations maturely. Good people sometimes do bad things. His character was developed excellently with all the nuances of what soul searching and redemption is like. And when Zuko found Iroh in his tent and couldn’t say anything out of shame, I knew Zuko had changed for good and I’m so proud of him.

Azula

“Azula was born lucky while I’m just lucky to be born.”

Azula means blue in Japanese because her flames are blue. Her flames are so hot that they turned blue and she is the only character in the entire Avatar world to have that ability. She was a fire-bending prodigy. Zuko reveals once how his father thought “Azula was born lucky while I’m just lucky to be born.”. I mean talk about favouritism…

She was introduced to the war room very early on, rubbing shoulders with military generals where she was conditioned to be as calculated, fierce, and powerful as possible. The hyper militaristic environment taught her that that was the only way she gained respect. But she was wrong.

Azula forced her friends May and Ty Lee to join her in her quest for the Avatar against their will. She had to coerce Ty Lee by making her life at the circus difficult. She had always gotten what she wanted, even resorting to manipulating her friends. But they were never her true friends. She had always been a fire-nation princess while her friends were the daughters of generals. They were not the same. At the boiling rock, both May and Ty Lee turned against her to help Zuko escape. “You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you.” May tells Azula. It was painful to watch Azula almost plummet to death while Zuko is saved by his friends. Azula looked at Zuko as he escapes, resentment written all over her face. There are some things that goes beyond the calculation of costs and benefits that Azula never understood.

She couldn’t bear to face her friends, muttering under her breath: “my own mother thought I was a monster.”

On Ember Island, its almost psychopathic how she doesn’t show a shred of empathy at her friends stories of their deepest fears and troubles. She retorted coldly that she doesn’t have sob stories like the rest because she has had everything she wanted. She looked down at the campfire as the light flickered in her face as she remembers. She couldn’t bear to face her friends, muttering under her breath: “my own mother thought I was a monster.” This was the first time we saw empathy and some semblance of emotion from Azula. So Azula was not a completely cold hearted bitch. Instead, somewhere hidden, this girl was hurting. She quickly catches herself and puts on a smile, whipping up some excuse that everything turned out exactly how she wanted, but we all know that’s her defence mechanism. To show emotion was weakness, and Azula had been trained to be perfect, like a machine. Except she couldn’t possibly be perfect all the time, she’s only human.

Mirror, mirror on the wall.

She had defeated all her opponents and achieved her goal of becoming fire-lord. She had used deceit and strategies to clamour to the top and now that she’s here, she became her own enemy. She spiralled down a hole of self-doubt and paranoia. She dismissed her most capable agents the Dai Li. She dismissed her advisors. She dismissed a servant for just failing to remove a cherry pit and that was her in a good mood.

When she faced the mirror, it revealed her actual desires: love from her parents. Looking at her reflection, she saw her mother telling her she had always been loved. She realises she had been wrong all along. And for once, she allows herself to be vulnerable and to feel emotions. She lets herself go, throwing her comb, smashing the mirror and the hallucination along with it. Putting her face in her hands, she sobs. Now we understand why she did the things she did. I don’t blame her.

She realises she is utterly defeated and is forced to confront the fact that all along, she had in fact been miserable.

Agni Kai.

The final duel between her and Zuko. She was slipping here not just because Zuko became stronger but also because she became weaker. Zuko found a new purpose in life and his fire-bending became stronger. All the betrayal and solitude Azula experiences recently takes a toll on her confidence. She became more doubtful of herself and lost sight of her purpose in life, causing her own fire-bending to become weaker. She looks at her destroyed palace and at Katara healing Zuko, a demonstration of friendship and love, something she has always wanted but never received, and she breaks down. Fire escapes her nose and ears, along with tears of rage. She realises she is utterly defeated and is forced to confront the fact that all along, she had in fact been miserable.

Azula is the loneliest character in the entire series, with no true friends or family around her. I don’t think she is an inherently bad person, but her environment made her the monster that she is.

But, can we talk about how amazing of a villain Azula is? She devised an entire military plot in Ba Sing Sei and won. She is a master fire-bender who has the ability to produce and redirect lightning. She is a master at deceiving people, good enough to get past Toph’s senses. This literally means she can control her own body’s physiological response when she’s lying (How is that even possible…). She took on Team Avatar as well as Iroh and Zuko at the SAME time and survived. She was such a manipulator she managed to convince the Dai Li to work for her. She was the only one who came close to killing the Avatar and not to mention the amount of times team Avatar almost got caught because of her. She is the ultimate villain. Thanos could neva!

Katara

Talk about female empowerment when she had been the head of the family instead of her brother and being more powerful than her brother, a protector as well.

As the rain stilled in mid-air, she conjures up all of her strength to deliver a final blow to her mother’s killer. She stops just inches before his face, and lets the water fall to the ground.

Forgive and forget

Zuko understood how important it was for her to get revenge for her mother and took her to her mother’s killer. And ultimately, she chose to let her anger out and let go, instead of pursuing the death of her mother’s killer. Air-benders were taught to let go of worldly emotions but sometimes, closure can only come in the form of confrontation. You don’t have to forgive or forget to move on. As the rain stilled in mid-air, she conjures up all of her strength to deliver a final blow to her mother’s killer. She stops just inches before his face, and lets the water fall to the ground. “I don’t know if I’m too weak to do it, or if I’m strong enough not to do it.” I stan.

Katara has always been the leader of the group and has always been helping people. “I will never turn my back on people who need me.” She promises. In her time, she had managed to galvanise Earth benders to take over a ship, lead team Avatar out of the desert and managed to defend a village from fire-bending thugs. She has always used her intelligence to lead the team away from difficult situations.

In the aspect of diversity, this show is a win. Toph is a tomboy and she is the greatest earth bender to have ever lived in both Legend of Aang and Legend of Korra. She single-handedly developed metal bending. She is blind (handicapped) but manages to take on Earth Rumble 6 and defeated all the master earth-benders there.

All bendings descended from actual martial art styles. Earth-bending took reference from Southern Chinese martial art Hung Ga. Water-bending was based off Tai Chi. Fire-bending was based on Northern Shaolin Kung Fu. Air-bending is based off BaGua.

ATLA was entertaining, thoughtful and culturally sensitive. Its character portrayals were mature and nuanced with all the depth needed for them to come alive in everyone’s heads. There’s a lot to learn.