Bad Touch Yakushi
Active member
I hate to be the one to try fault Avatar: The Last Airbender, hell it's one of the best told stories of this generation but one thing involving 2 characters has always gotten to me.
Uncle Iroh is the passive character yes? Totally unbiased, wise and morally good. He single-handedly led Zuko from crazed honourless Avatar hunter to world saviour over the course of three seasons....so....why did he never do the same to Azula?
"She's crazy, and she needs to go down."
―Iroh speaking to Zuko about Azula.
I understand that Azula was more influenced by her father than her mother (Ozai was proud of power naturally) and considering she never inherited any of his genes (not her birth father) the only thing wrong Azula ever did at the start was being naturally strong- that was it. Uncle Iroh crosses paths with her a few times but is so instantly determined that she is a lost cause. Why?
She was in a similar state to Zuko morally at the beginning of her introduction and her breakdown that ensues later due to her mother issues is something that would've likely happened to Zuko if he was shunned by his uncle. Iroh believes that people can change and do good and yet he didn't have a single second of sympathy for the girl?
And it's not as if she was at any point an absolute unredeemable monster- her character in her youth showed signs of elitism but was still friendly even. Her mother never had time for Azula and from what we saw in flashbacks mostly spent her time lecturing Azula. Zuko was weaker and so got special treatment from their mother which forced Azula onto her father, forcing this terrible maniac as her role model. I'm not saying she's a saint, i'm saying she could've been saved.
In the episode 'Prayers of Ember Island' we follow the Fire Nation teens in their escape to a temporary social life, the treatment of Azula in this episode is VERY strange. She has moments of being her usual manipulative self but she also treats many of her comrades as actual friends for once. Sincerely apologising to Ty Lee for making her cry and admitting she is jealous of her. (WHAT)
She is open and mature with Zuko when he is ranting about his life, asking him who he is truly mad at and whether it's her. She also shows many attempts at fitting into a normal, friendly life- her upbringing ultimately failing her, but she TRIED. This episode clearly shows she isn't the monster the plot needs her to be, there's clearly a lot more there. She's a sympathetic character and one that strongly needed help, but unlike every other character never received it.
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Uncle Iroh is the passive character yes? Totally unbiased, wise and morally good. He single-handedly led Zuko from crazed honourless Avatar hunter to world saviour over the course of three seasons....so....why did he never do the same to Azula?
"She's crazy, and she needs to go down."
―Iroh speaking to Zuko about Azula.
I understand that Azula was more influenced by her father than her mother (Ozai was proud of power naturally) and considering she never inherited any of his genes (not her birth father) the only thing wrong Azula ever did at the start was being naturally strong- that was it. Uncle Iroh crosses paths with her a few times but is so instantly determined that she is a lost cause. Why?
You must be registered for see images
She was in a similar state to Zuko morally at the beginning of her introduction and her breakdown that ensues later due to her mother issues is something that would've likely happened to Zuko if he was shunned by his uncle. Iroh believes that people can change and do good and yet he didn't have a single second of sympathy for the girl?
And it's not as if she was at any point an absolute unredeemable monster- her character in her youth showed signs of elitism but was still friendly even. Her mother never had time for Azula and from what we saw in flashbacks mostly spent her time lecturing Azula. Zuko was weaker and so got special treatment from their mother which forced Azula onto her father, forcing this terrible maniac as her role model. I'm not saying she's a saint, i'm saying she could've been saved.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
In the episode 'Prayers of Ember Island' we follow the Fire Nation teens in their escape to a temporary social life, the treatment of Azula in this episode is VERY strange. She has moments of being her usual manipulative self but she also treats many of her comrades as actual friends for once. Sincerely apologising to Ty Lee for making her cry and admitting she is jealous of her. (WHAT)
She is open and mature with Zuko when he is ranting about his life, asking him who he is truly mad at and whether it's her. She also shows many attempts at fitting into a normal, friendly life- her upbringing ultimately failing her, but she TRIED. This episode clearly shows she isn't the monster the plot needs her to be, there's clearly a lot more there. She's a sympathetic character and one that strongly needed help, but unlike every other character never received it.
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