I'm surprised you didn't mention that the family Zuko thought about robbing is the same one that the Gaang cross the the strait with to get into Ba Sing Se. Although, you may mention it when you get to that episode.
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.
On Azula, she says Azulon was "not exactly the powerful Firelord he used to be". She's SEVEN. She doesn't *know* how Azulon used to be. That tells me that she really is just parroting what she sees from Ozai, and she gets rewarded for it. To me it makes perfect sense why she's like this at a young age.
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.
when azula says "who's going to make me, mom?" that always scares the shit out of me from zukos perspective. ursa has always been there to stand up for him, not only against his jerk sister but against a horrible man like ozai. he has nobody to protect him now, and god only knows what hell he went through under ozai for those years
Agree with the unsubtle characterization of Azula in this episode. Only way I can defend it, is to think of the flashbacks as Zuko's memories. So we only see Azula as Zuko remembers her, which is influenced by his current perception of Azula.
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
It’s kinda chilling that even Ursa laughs at the ‘burn it to the ground’ line not even having a little bit of tact just straight up giggling with her children
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.
I see where your criticism of Azula is coming from, but where you see cartoonishness that shallows her character, I see childish clumsiness that reinforces it. She's not the cold, manipulative mastermind she becomes yet- she's still too immature to be subtle in her cruelty. I think it makes a lot of sense for her to have the same dark impulses as a child, but in an unrefined way. She's lived under her father's influence her whole life, and being his favorite, not her mother's, has long shaped her. Ozai is cold and calculating, and he doesn't spare his children of his cruelty (as Zuko's face would attest), so Azula should already be well aware of the ideal she needs to strive towards to enliven her father's expectations. But as a child, she's only been able to master the broad strokes, not the nuances. Her father rewards her outward shows of prodigy, and that goes for political prodigy as well as firebending. The overtness she shows in this episode seems to me like a child practicing, both for themselves and for their parent to notice and compliment. But your ideas for an alternate young Azula also sounded pretty compelling, so I can understand where you're disappointed. It just didn't hit me the same way! Great video, my brother and I love the channel!
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.
Hot take here, but I'd actually say that Zuko's scarred half is his good half, it's the half that knows the evils of the fire nation firsthand, it's his damaged half that Iroh and Ursa will never hold against him, it's the half that Ozai and Azula mock and hate him for, while his unscarred half is the perfect, beautiful son his father always wished for
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.
Zuko absolutely need that family to reject him. He needed to hear that he and his association with the fire nation is not at all welcome even after doing a good deed for them. The earth kingdom citizens feeling terrorized by him was something he needed to see. It helped to reshape his perspective on how he views his nation. This is him beginning to question his blind loyalty to it and nationalism, which leads into him later questioning his loyalty to his father. For azula, I feel like they could've been shown her to be shaped by ozai and his values of using fear to control people, to manipulate others. They never showed what she was ever up to during season 1, just relaxing eh, i feel like she'd be doing something learning or plotting something. On a side note, I feel like even if Ozai had won and team avatar lost, Azula probably would've assassinated Ozai eventually.
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.
I think Azula's characterization seems spot on. Empathy is something kids usually learn from their parents, and since Azula probably spends a lot of time with Ozai as a prodigy, he is teaching her that empathy is weakness and that causing pain to others is the only way to be strong. She is being absolutely horrible because she wants to emulate her dad, and while she knows how to manipulate some situations, she can't manipulate every situation, such as when Tai Lee shows her up as an acrobat, she doesn't know how to 'win' in the situation, so she just gets angry and pushes her over, and she can't control her mom. Her manipulations are still unrefined, and i think very much represents what a young prodigy that is constantly afraid of but also looks up to a monster like Ozai might look like.
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
Almost definitely not intentional, but what if Yue is making every night a full moon somehow. I like to think she's still helping the Water benders during the war.
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.
Notice how Azula calls Iroh, "His royal, tea-loving kookiness"? Ozai actually refers to Iroh in a similar way in the Day of Black Sun. That seems to reinforce to me that Azula is just parroting her father.
Child Azula being more empathetic and normal-child-like does feel good from an instinctive narrative perspective, but that's often not how these things work. There's a video from HelloFutureMe that does a deep dive into Azula's psychology, and it points out how consistent these flashbacks are with real child development under these parenting conditions. Long story short, Azula and Zuko both made a choice at some point in their early development to mirror one parent or the other. (I think this is just a normal part of child psychology, but I could be wrong; I am not an expert.) Zuko mirrors his mother, while Azula mirrors Ozai. We see Zuko mirroring his mother more, because these are Zuko's flashbacks - he wants her approval, and is developing according to the moral framework she offers. Azula, meanwhile, exhibits a child's version of Ozai's morality: manipulate everyone to your own advantage, strength is supreme, and caring is weakness. She's been presented with that mentality from the moment Ozai became a part of her life, which (barring any weird Fire Nation traditions about fathers and very young children) would be as far back as she can remember. So just as we see Zuko following largely his mother's moral code with a bit of Ozai's (poor Turtle-duck), we see Azula following largely Ozai's moral code with a bit of her mother's (that brief moment of happy play). It's not a slow erosion of a fundamentally good and decent person, because that's not how child psych works. We see such slow erosion of moral codes in older characters because those older characters had a moral code already built up - there's memories to draw on, lessons learned...all of which a fallen character needs to unlearn during their fall. The older and more firmly established that moral code is, the more resistant they are. But for a child, there's very little innately there. It's not nothing, babies aren't *literally* a blank slate...but most of what is there is pretty basic - a baby tries to make sense of the world, to recognize friendly faces, to move arms and legs (which eventually develops to crawling, walking and climbing). Things start developing the moment they're aware of the outside world (and that quickly becomes too complex and varied to make declarative generalizations about), and for Azula, that outside world included Ozai.
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.
It's ironic to hear Ursa say to Zuko, "never forget who you are", when Ursa herself, in the comics, chooses to forget who she is to become someone else from the Mother of Faces.
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 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.
6:23 a really small thing I like about this scene, after Ty Lee shows up Azula with the double backflip, she pushes her over in a pretty rough way. It can be seen as "just kids playing", but it also fits strikingly well with what we learn of her later on. She's been raised to be the perfect princess all her life, anything less than perfection is seen as a failure, so even as a young child we see that she is obviously insecure and lashes out when she fails at something as simple as a game.
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
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.
@@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.
Did anyone think that Zuko was actually a better fighter and stronger bender with his swords? You see it in this episode and almost in the episode, where Zuko is fighting Jet; referring to the bit where it seems he burns/cuts in half the straw in Jet's mouth. Zuko seems to have an upperhand and be quite collected while fighting with his swords, instead of his normal hot-headed self. I wish they developed it a little more.
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).
@@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.
I think baby Azula’s over-the-top evil makes sense in the context that these are Zuko’s memories. Also love that her firebending demo ends with a strike at her grandfather, a subtle hint of the family on family violence to come
Really disagree on the Azula needs to be more subtle argument. Shes like what 10 at most here? Children that age act like that. When enabled theyre cruel and taunting and defiantly not subtle about it, its not cartoonisly evil at all, shes just mean. Her being subtly manipulative and nice with a few cracks in that starting to form from Ozais (and her entire culture's) influence would've felt very unrealistic for a child.
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.
Yes that was bread Zuko threw at the turtle-duck. He says, “Hey mom, wanna see how Azula feeds turtle-ducks?” And the loaf floats. It just disappears in the next shot.
I love how the Firelords decline in morality -Sozin wants to share his prosperity with the world but ends up colonizing innocents, and over the years becomes paranoid after getting his ass handed to him by Roku -Azulan continues his father's dictatorship and is more cruel, but has a twisted sense of honor. He's genuinely disgusted by Ozais request for the throne as his eldest son is grieving, but still gives Ozai a cruel punishment for speaking out of line and vying for power. -Ozai does not care about anyone or anything except power. He ruthlessly punishes Zuko in the same way Azulan punished him, this time for speaking against one of his generals plans to butcher soliders. -Azula is more of the same, and even seems to enjoy inflicting pain on people.
Yes! These guys make Azula of as this tragic character and in a way she is, but not for the reason you think. Ozai is not a monster from birth who corrupted an innocent child. At a point he, too, was a child. This is a hereditary thing, that's why it's tragic. Doesn't make Azula less evil.
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. :)
I like how the war between the two nations actually feels like a war. There are different military units on both sides, some pretty much just militias which would be expected in an invasion of such a massive continent. There are refugees, war crimes and annexed territory It just makes it feel real to me
Fun fact, this is the only episode without any appearance of Aang, Katara, or Sokka Edit: Please read the replies before making the exact same comment six times in a row. You're not creative. Also, my point isn't that the gaang aren't in this episode but that they are in every other episode. Like, they still appear in The Beach despite that episode almost entirely focusing on Zuko and the Elite Trio.
I loved the connection to his betrayal of the Fire Nation. But it’s also a connection to what he says to Ozai in the bunker. Personally I think he remembered this when saying it. “The people are terrified of the Fire Nation! They don’t see our greatness! They hate us, and we deserve it!” In the ending shots we see how even though he saved the boy and put the bullies in their place, they still hate him and are afraid that he’ll hurt them next. He got to see this hatred first hand.
I think the over-the-top child Azula was a hint that there was a mixture of bad parenting, favoritism, cultural influence, and maybe even some hints that Azula took to things rather quickly ...including realising the position of power she was in.
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
1:50 super late to the party, but live, wet wood burns much more slowly than wood that has been dead and drying for a while. You absolutely can use freshly cut branches to raise food off of the coal bed to cook.
More evidence for pigs: the guy who approaches the family to talk about the war crimes of the fire nation also tells Zuko he shouldn't "bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs".
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.
@@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
1:58 when Zuko changes his mind about highway robbery, we hear the tsungi horn. This is the instrument of both the blue spirit (Ursa’s influence) and Iroh’s influence.
That little moment where young Zuko approaches Ozai gets me every time. Ozai hates weakness, and I believe that his refusal to turn around and face his kid in this moment is his attempt to hide his real emotions about losing Ursa (however horrible he was to her). To me, it's the closest thing he gets to character depth
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
I would like to see more of Iroh during these flashbacks . Like seriously, Iroh just lost his son, almost lost Zuko, lost his father and sister-in-law, then suddenly Ozai has got the throne and doesn't show any sadness or grief about the situation. He must've think there's some sh*t going on here
I think it makes sense that Azula was that cartoonishly evil. By that time, she probably started to notice how her father acts, and began to emulate him, but because she’s a child, she’s really over the top and caricature-like with it
@@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.
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
Whoever cant believe Azula would act that way as a child clearly hasn't seen A. How manipulative little sisters can be. B. How terrible some children act without parenting. Now it would have been cool to get an Azula flashback from her perspective, maybe starting just a year or two younger, or even an Ozai flashback of him regretting how he raised her. Edit* thanks for the spellcheck
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.
@@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.
On the roofing scene, I think it speaks to 2 things. The first thing has been discussed elsewhere (Zuko is a prince and wouldn't have learned any trade skills) but also...Zuko has been shown to be naturally unskilled at pretty much everything he does. He has to train and work hard to pick up any skills. It wouldn't make any sense for his character for him to do anything well the first time he tries it.
I like how in that last shot of zuko riding out of the town, all the villagers are watching zuko go but lee looks away. Like even though he said he hates zuko, and he probably does in a lot of ways, you can see it still hurts him to watch zuko go
That one scene where Azula is learning cartwheels from Ty Lee - even at that age, Azula (maybe influenced by Ozai) chose Mei and Ty Lee as her friends instead of other firebending girls at the academy. And that's because they both had skills that she didn't. And we can see her in this episode learning those skills, to make her more than *just* a prodigy firebender. We see the payoff of all those years of training in Day of Black Sun when she moves around like Ty Lee and then attacks Sokka with Mei's shurikens.
One thing I really like about Zuko and also highlights Ozai's shortsightedness is Zukos abilities with his swords. The skill he shows with them is prodigious. If Ozai had recognized this and nurtured Zuko's talent by providing him a master who could teach him how to incorporate his weapons into his bending I think he could have been as lethal as Azula!
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 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
@@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
"they're just two parts of the same whole." as a massive sword nerd, I love this line. dual wielding identical weapons was very uncommon throughout history as using one large weapon in both hands gives you more reach and striking force, while combining a smaller weapon with a shield gives much more defensive options but it's far from having it's own merits. Which Zuko shows off with the stances he uses. He swings one weapon like he's binding or deflecting the opponent with one weapon and following it up with the other. The line works so well because a swordsman can't treat the tools he's using like an isolated item, whether it's a second weapon, a shield, or different parts of a single weapon, they are all part of a whole and the animators, and writers were dead on showing a fighting style that proves that. most games or shows treat dual wielding as just extra damage or faster attacks, but this show gets martial arts so right.
I feel like Iroh may have gone off into the war before he really got to know Azula giving her a gift that she doesn't appreciate prompting her to think that her father as firelord would be better for her Edit: Azula generally comes off as too strong in this episode, but I will defend a lot of them as the personal benefit to her outweighing any other feelings she might have
9:55 Oh wow I never noticed that moment where Zuko and Azula are playing. That is wholesome in the fact that we actually see a glimpse of what their life COULD have been like
About the spider snake eyes, The thing is is that spiders already have the trait of having multiple eyes so it makes sense to add on more when you add the snake part- but turtle ducks only have one pair of eyes because both of the combined animals only have one, they don’t have that additive eyes trait!
I actually have a response to the twigs not burning. When you're in a pinch and need to cook food, but have nothing, you burn dry wood, and use living branches to cook with. The live wood still has a lot of moisture, so it is burn resistant. Also in regard to Azulas psychopathic behavior at a young age, I actually think its incredibly well done of the show to have her behave like that. Psychopaths are actually born that way, where sociopaths often develop their behavior. I have met one true psychopath in my life, and they were very young. It was unnerving.
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 another reason for Iroh giving Azula the doll could be that he hasn't really known her that much. She is like 8(?) in the flashback and Iroh laid siege to Ba Sing Se for almost 2 years, and likely would have been gone even longer than that since you don't prepare for a siege in a day. This means its entirely possible that the last time he saw her she was 6 years old or likely even younger. Its reasonable to believe that she is a completely different person at this point, but the Iroh would have no way of knowing that being busy with Ba Sing Se.
If there's a million Lees... would it really be uncommon for Zuko to say his name is Lee to somebody else with the name Lee? That'd be like "Oh no, this person is named John, too! What should I say?"
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.
You know what may also be the reason why Azula is already so crazy as a child? It's a flashback from Zuko after all. His memory may not be quite accurate and eventually Azula said things differently. But we can only see how Zuko remembers his sister and what she (in his mind) has said back then.
I hope we can one day see a 'Avatar: The Last Airbender writers react to Overanalyzing Avatar' You're hilarious and insightful, and you say a lot of things that make me really curious how the writers would respond. Also I'm really happy to see you devote the time this episode deserves.
I love that we can still see the Iroh we know in the flashback, even if he's very different. He's still got a lot of respect for Ba Sing Se as a powerful city, and only talks about burning it down as a joke. Sounds like he's trying to joke about their overwhelming power being too much to leave anything behind just to put the kids' minds at ease since he doesn't want them to worry about a loved one getting hurt in the battle.
I think Azula's attitude in this episode is actually just how Zuko remembers her, so she might not actually be that psychotic yet, but that's how Zuko remembers it
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?
I could definitely see Azula acting like this. Children mimic their parents, good or bad. As a teacher I’ve heard kids say extremely alarming things only an adult would say... then I meet their parents and it’s quite obvious they are just saying what they hear at home. Azula clearly wants her fathers approval and power one day so she mimics and repeats everything she’s heard him say.
17:07 Love that you’re eventually gonna tear into this. Azulon was firelord for 23 years? Zozin was already an old man when he began the hundred year war? The length of the war in relation to the ages/amounts of generations in Zuko’s family always bothered me as a kid. I know it gets sorta explained away by Azula, but still.
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?
@@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.
The more you watch movies and shows/learn about the way traditional Japanese samurai acted under the bushido code, the more you see those codes and traditions play out in the fire nation, which of course was based on imperial Japan. No one is ever going to read this. But it does blow my mind that me learning about history and culture in the real world actually makes events and characters in this show make even more sense, and it grows my appreciation for this show, which the more you study it you realize that it’s the best written piece of fiction ever to touch a television screen. It will never get that full credit, but it seriously is that, the best written piece of fiction to ever touch a television screen
I love the attention to detail that sends zuko grew up a noble he definitely wouldn't know how to really work and clearly doesn't know how to put together a roof
Overanalyzing the overanalysis: Zuko put 9 bent nails into a singe roof tile because he has never learned the skill of driving in nails. He may have learned to swing a hammer as a combat style, but he grew up in a privileged house and never had to do any of the manual labor needed to keep up a palace. Even after he was banished, he was given a fully crewed ship that he didn't really have to do anything on to make it run. The fact that he was struggling with a single roof tile made perfect sense to me since he's most likely never hammered a nail in his entire life. While I agree that it would have been nice to see Azula as something other than a psychopathic douchenozzle, I think her early behavior is used to show the split in their family. Both Zuko and Iroh are given troubled pasts which lead them toward becoming the good people that they always were. Both were merely shaped early on by their family's propensity to be ruthless and cruel as a means of control. Conversely, Azula and Ozai flourished in their cruel natured home life. It seems like everyone in Zuko's family is either predominantly good but drawn toward the dark side, or just a straight up evil moustache twirling villain. That makes me wonder if old man Zuko in LoK had some really twisted unwanted son chained up in an attic like Zelda in Pet Semetary.
@@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.
If the twigs were live when they were cut and used recently after it's basically impossible to burn them normally. I run a forge regularly, and my solid fuel forge won't run on green wood at all, stuff won't even ignite at around 1200f until all the water escapes, which can take a long while at normal campfire temperatures.
^^^^^^^^ 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
A nice little tidbit that you missed. Notice how he announces himself. "I am Zuko, son of Ursa and Firelord Ozai, prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the Throne." Zuko lists his MOTHER as the most important thing about his identity. I refuse to believe that was just am accident
Just want to point of that the guy saying “cmon spider snake eyes” implies the existence of a spider-snake in this world. The nopest of ropes if you will
8:00 I think this was just meant to indicate that Iroh has always favored Zuko and simply wasn't very thoughtful in his gift to Azula, not knowing or caring whether she'd hate it or not.
It is worth noting that this episode is heavily based on a Kurosawa film called twin blades. Kurosawa pioneered the Samurai movie genre, giving us many tropes that we see everywhere today. His works were inspired by spaghetti westerns, which were in turn inspired by early American mythology based around cowboys and sharpshooters. So while you are technically correct, the real inspiration is Kurosawa films. Or the Ronin subgenre of Samurai films specifically.
Just realized that when Iroh gets kidnapped in season one, when Zuko looks towards the Gaang on Appa, we see his scar facing towards the camera. When he looks towards saving his uncle, his unscarred side is showing. So much scar symbolism in this show!!
I take young Azulas character to her not caring/understanding how hurtful what she says is. She just speaks her mind, unfiltered. (Mostly). As she ages she realizes how much she gets from her actions and channels it towards her goals.
I think the spider snake eyes is in reference to how the one dot in the center is the snake eyes with the four on the outside combining to represent the spider legs.
As much as I agree with you, it makes more sense because A. Zuko is older and doesn't meet expectations B. Ozai was the second child and views himself as the prodigy and it makes sense that when his second kid comes out as the prodigy he would raise her to be him from her young young age. C. She only doesn't have her mom's reinforcement for the same reason you mentioned zuko does. He wants his dad's love but goes to his mom for positive reinforcement before he tries to recreate it for his father. Azula gets blatant positive reinforcement for being awful and she KNOWS her mom would give her negative reinforcement for the exact things her father teaches. She doesn't try to shake up that balance because reason 2 BUT reason 1 is exactly why she sees her dad doesn't like zuko and it makes sense that she wouldn't want to shake up her dad's positive reinforcement
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.
no matter how many times i come back and watch Overanalyzing Avatar: Zuko Alone. i always realize that no one remebers the little cameo with lee talking about his brother Sun Tzu also known as the author of his book "The Art Of War" when Zuko taught Lee how to use the dual swords
Also, what exactly is the season? Sunflowers bloom in late summer to early fall. But it’s supposed to still be mid spring right now? And maybe not intentional, but sunflowers are an interesting symbolic representation of both earth and Fire. They are planted in the earth but have flowers shaped like the sun, like Agni the spirit of the sun. One of the few scenes with a firebender and an earth Kingdom kid being side by side peacefully, is in a field of sunflowers.
I just realised something. When Zuko finally firebends against the lead earthbender soldier/bully (and yes, breakdances), he beats him in literally two shots. To me, that shows just how weak the soldiers/bullies truly are and how unprepared they would be in the face of a Fire Nation invasion. It shows that they really are more of bullies than true soldiers.
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.
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...
One thing I’m surprised you didn’t point out is that when Azula does her cartwheels, she falls. When Ty Lee does it successfully, Azula pushes her because no one’s allowed to be better than her. She’s constantly making other people smaller so she can be more successful. Just the attention to detail of these animators and writers man
Blue eyed Zuko. In the North Pole flashback, Zuko’s eyes are blue, not gold. That one bit of inconsistency in an otherwise iconic look always gets me. I mean, they could keep the bruises and cuts from his ship blowing up with him in it consistent for thee episodes, but mess up those distinctive gold eyes?
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
I never realized this until now, but Zuko's mother is named Ursa. *Ursa* as in the Latin for *bear* . She's really the best and only mother character we get to know in the series, and she's basically called *mama bear* .
I always liked the Old Western and Old Samurai film style of this episode. While I do agree that flashback Azula was a little too maniacal, I do like the aspect the flashbacks introduced, mainly just how twisted and awful Zuko's past and childhood family life was really like.
Agree about Azula. When i was showing this show to my small brother and he asked what's up with her, I couldn't say anything better than that she was being corrupted by Ozai since she was a toddler
Wait...when Azula said "maybe a nice earth kingdom family will adopt you" in the flashback...Thats kind of what was happening in the episode. I never noticed that until now
I read an interesting theory that Azulon truly ordered Ozai to give up Zuko, in the sense of Iroh adopting him. And then Ozai would rather kill Zuko than see that happen. And thence the plot grows.
On Azula, kids mimic their parents without understanding the implications of their actions all the time. If she’s spending all her time with Ozai, it’s only natural that she would repeat phrases and mannerisms that she observed from Ozai. Also, children are much more aggressive and manipulative by nature than adults are. They just don’t have enough power or wit to cause any lasting damage. So this seems completely in tune with her character to me
This video was almost as long as the episode itself! I liked the observation about how skipping episodes with characters and how that affects our perception of time passing for them!
9:01 Whether it was intentional or not, I like how this scene is framed. Zuko’s unscarred half showing as he looks toward the direction Iroh went in. And in the next shot, his scarred half showing as he looks in the direction of Team Avatar; the scar is what bound him to chasing the Avatar for the longest time. To show that when he faces the direction of Team Avatar is really neat and something I didn’t notice until now.
Technically speaking, you know nothing about the local system, including the moon's placement with respect to the planet and its revolution speed. For all you know it could work out so there's a full moon every other day.
@@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.
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
I also wish Azula's mean side would have been more subtle, but since the writers chose not to go that way, here are my thoughts on it: She was born with traits naturally more similar to her dad. Those traits could have been used for good, but her dad got to her first. He quickly realized she was a prodigy, so he favored her and put her in environments where she would be rewarded for the negative side of those traits, which strengthened the behavior. She has most likely spent more time around her father or around people her father would deem good enough to be around her, which are probably pretty strict, mean people that share his ideals. Azula is our direct glimpse into Ozai. All that she's saying, she most likely directly heard from Ozai and is repeating it. She's mimicking him because she'll get the most rewards if she does (rewards being his attention, praise, love, consideration, etc). I mean, just think about how strongly young kids believe in their parents’ beliefs (politics, religion). Kids at that age just spout off whatever they've heard at home. We get a lot of our morals from our parents, and since she felt less of a connection with Ursa, Ozai's beliefs are what she'd be internalizing the most. “A real general would have stayed and burned Ba Sing Se to the ground, not lose the battle and come home crying.” I wouldn't be surprised if lines like this are almost direct quotes from things she's overheard from Ozai. If her main parent isn't upset about what happened to her uncle, and she's grown to trust his opinion the most, then she wouldn't think to care either. Basically, I don't think Azula is coming up with this all on her own. She wouldn't be saying things like this if Ursa had had a greater influence and connection with her. But I bet after Zuko was such a dud in Ozai's eyes, Ozai took special care to make sure that didn't happen to his second born.
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.
Definitely one of the best episodes of the series, easily top five One issue I have though is with people who say this is their choice of episode to show someone to get them into ATLA...because honestly, I think this episode does a poor job of showing you what the series is about. The impactful moments will only resonate when you're already familiar and invested in the characters, and a lot of the things that make this episode work so well are choices that were made to deliberately break away from what you can normally expect in the show
@@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
Well, about the gift for Azula, Iroh had been away for at least two years, after all, his attack on the city is named "the 600 Days siege of Ba Sing Se" so, counting the time needed to leave the fire nation, so again, he must had been away for two years, it's a long time and he probably imagined more the little Azula he knew.
Honestly I always just took Azula’s behavior at that age to show that she truly had antisocial personality disorder. Hell Zuko’s line “Wanna see how Azula feeds turtle ducks?” Implies he’s seen her attacking the ducks, torturing and harming animals for pleasure is a common sign children lack empathy.
No way would Ozai have gotten away with skipping Iroh in the succession. Not with that I happened to be with my father when he died and he happened to tell only me that he wanted to skip my older brother in the succession. You know the one, the war hero. They call him the Dragon of the West. Honestly even if Iroh didn't want to challenge for the throne, I think the army may've took the initiative on their own to correct this injustice.
Young Azula's behaviour very much feels like she's mimicking or repeating after Ozai. When she's with friends and playing, she's mischeivious and manipulative, but not overly malicious. Hell, I would argue that in fountain scene she was trying to help Zuko and Mai get together, just in her own way. And when Azula told Zuko about him going to be gotten rid of as a punishement, she seems like she wants to mess with Zuko, but once again in non malicious way. It's just something she likes to do to Zuko as a way of killing time. It's not manipulative, it's not even cold and subtle. Also, even when she's teasing him, her first option there is that he's going to be given away. Also, we know that Ozai preffered Azula over Zuko. It wouldn't be that unbelievable that he convinced her into believing that getting rid of Zuko was inevetable. Calculated Azula knowing that wouldn't tell anyone about Ozai's punishement. But young azula did, and she was excited about that. Feelings never were Azula's strong point, and that I believe Ozai made sure she would be that way on purpose. He made sure so she know how to exploit feelings of other people, while not only being unable to properly process them herself, but also not able to find calm and balance without Ozai. Azula was at her most efficient and dangerous when she was obeying Ozai. When he left her, she broke almost immediately.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm surprised you didn't mention that the family Zuko thought about robbing is the same one that the Gaang cross the the strait with to get into Ba Sing Se. Although, you may mention it when you get to that episode.
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!
On Azula, she says Azulon was "not exactly the powerful Firelord he used to be". She's SEVEN. She doesn't *know* how Azulon used to be. That tells me that she really is just parroting what she sees from Ozai, and she gets rewarded for it. To me it makes perfect sense why she's like this at a young age.
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
when azula says "who's going to make me, mom?" that always scares the shit out of me from zukos perspective. ursa has always been there to stand up for him, not only against his jerk sister but against a horrible man like ozai. he has nobody to protect him now, and god only knows what hell he went through under ozai for those years
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
Agree with the unsubtle characterization of Azula in this episode. Only way I can defend it, is to think of the flashbacks as Zuko's memories. So we only see Azula as Zuko remembers her, which is influenced by his current perception of Azula.
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
It’s kinda chilling that even Ursa laughs at the ‘burn it to the ground’ line not even having a little bit of tact just straight up giggling with her children
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.
@@RafilaWanAnd how Iroh narrates his letter shows he was man that the current one will never be proud of.
no shit she's the wife of the the firelord's kid
@@puli36 i mean. she didn't want to be. but yeah she's a subject of a fascist empire that has thoroughly propagandized its citizens
I see where your criticism of Azula is coming from, but where you see cartoonishness that shallows her character, I see childish clumsiness that reinforces it. She's not the cold, manipulative mastermind she becomes yet- she's still too immature to be subtle in her cruelty. I think it makes a lot of sense for her to have the same dark impulses as a child, but in an unrefined way. She's lived under her father's influence her whole life, and being his favorite, not her mother's, has long shaped her. Ozai is cold and calculating, and he doesn't spare his children of his cruelty (as Zuko's face would attest), so Azula should already be well aware of the ideal she needs to strive towards to enliven her father's expectations. But as a child, she's only been able to master the broad strokes, not the nuances. Her father rewards her outward shows of prodigy, and that goes for political prodigy as well as firebending. The overtness she shows in this episode seems to me like a child practicing, both for themselves and for their parent to notice and compliment.
But your ideas for an alternate young Azula also sounded pretty compelling, so I can understand where you're disappointed. It just didn't hit me the same way! Great video, my brother and I love the channel!
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.
Hot take here, but I'd actually say that Zuko's scarred half is his good half, it's the half that knows the evils of the fire nation firsthand, it's his damaged half that Iroh and Ursa will never hold against him, it's the half that Ozai and Azula mock and hate him for, while his unscarred half is the perfect, beautiful son his father always wished for
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.
Zuko absolutely need that family to reject him. He needed to hear that he and his association with the fire nation is not at all welcome even after doing a good deed for them. The earth kingdom citizens feeling terrorized by him was something he needed to see. It helped to reshape his perspective on how he views his nation. This is him beginning to question his blind loyalty to it and nationalism, which leads into him later questioning his loyalty to his father.
For azula, I feel like they could've been shown her to be shaped by ozai and his values of using fear to control people, to manipulate others. They never showed what she was ever up to during season 1, just relaxing eh, i feel like she'd be doing something learning or plotting something. On a side note, I feel like even if Ozai had won and team avatar lost, Azula probably would've assassinated Ozai eventually.
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
I think Azula's characterization seems spot on. Empathy is something kids usually learn from their parents, and since Azula probably spends a lot of time with Ozai as a prodigy, he is teaching her that empathy is weakness and that causing pain to others is the only way to be strong. She is being absolutely horrible because she wants to emulate her dad, and while she knows how to manipulate some situations, she can't manipulate every situation, such as when Tai Lee shows her up as an acrobat, she doesn't know how to 'win' in the situation, so she just gets angry and pushes her over, and she can't control her mom. Her manipulations are still unrefined, and i think very much represents what a young prodigy that is constantly afraid of but also looks up to a monster like Ozai might look like.
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!
Almost definitely not intentional, but what if Yue is making every night a full moon somehow. I like to think she's still helping the Water benders during the war.
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.
Notice how Azula calls Iroh, "His royal, tea-loving kookiness"? Ozai actually refers to Iroh in a similar way in the Day of Black Sun. That seems to reinforce to me that Azula is just parroting her father.
Child Azula being more empathetic and normal-child-like does feel good from an instinctive narrative perspective, but that's often not how these things work. There's a video from HelloFutureMe that does a deep dive into Azula's psychology, and it points out how consistent these flashbacks are with real child development under these parenting conditions.
Long story short, Azula and Zuko both made a choice at some point in their early development to mirror one parent or the other. (I think this is just a normal part of child psychology, but I could be wrong; I am not an expert.) Zuko mirrors his mother, while Azula mirrors Ozai. We see Zuko mirroring his mother more, because these are Zuko's flashbacks - he wants her approval, and is developing according to the moral framework she offers. Azula, meanwhile, exhibits a child's version of Ozai's morality: manipulate everyone to your own advantage, strength is supreme, and caring is weakness. She's been presented with that mentality from the moment Ozai became a part of her life, which (barring any weird Fire Nation traditions about fathers and very young children) would be as far back as she can remember. So just as we see Zuko following largely his mother's moral code with a bit of Ozai's (poor Turtle-duck), we see Azula following largely Ozai's moral code with a bit of her mother's (that brief moment of happy play).
It's not a slow erosion of a fundamentally good and decent person, because that's not how child psych works. We see such slow erosion of moral codes in older characters because those older characters had a moral code already built up - there's memories to draw on, lessons learned...all of which a fallen character needs to unlearn during their fall. The older and more firmly established that moral code is, the more resistant they are. But for a child, there's very little innately there. It's not nothing, babies aren't *literally* a blank slate...but most of what is there is pretty basic - a baby tries to make sense of the world, to recognize friendly faces, to move arms and legs (which eventually develops to crawling, walking and climbing). Things start developing the moment they're aware of the outside world (and that quickly becomes too complex and varied to make declarative generalizations about), and for Azula, that outside world included Ozai.
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.
It's ironic to hear Ursa say to Zuko, "never forget who you are", when Ursa herself, in the comics, chooses to forget who she is to become someone else from the Mother of Faces.
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.
6:23 a really small thing I like about this scene, after Ty Lee shows up Azula with the double backflip, she pushes her over in a pretty rough way. It can be seen as "just kids playing", but it also fits strikingly well with what we learn of her later on. She's been raised to be the perfect princess all her life, anything less than perfection is seen as a failure, so even as a young child we see that she is obviously insecure and lashes out when she fails at something as simple as a game.
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.
Did anyone think that Zuko was actually a better fighter and stronger bender with his swords? You see it in this episode and almost in the episode, where Zuko is fighting Jet; referring to the bit where it seems he burns/cuts in half the straw in Jet's mouth. Zuko seems to have an upperhand and be quite collected while fighting with his swords, instead of his normal hot-headed self. I wish they developed it a little more.
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).
@@Donlad03 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.
I think baby Azula’s over-the-top evil makes sense in the context that these are Zuko’s memories. Also love that her firebending demo ends with a strike at her grandfather, a subtle hint of the family on family violence to come
It’s honestly kinda unsettling…
@@shreyas5737 even Ursa had chills, _"What is wrong with that child?"_
Really disagree on the Azula needs to be more subtle argument. Shes like what 10 at most here? Children that age act like that. When enabled theyre cruel and taunting and defiantly not subtle about it, its not cartoonisly evil at all, shes just mean. Her being subtly manipulative and nice with a few cracks in that starting to form from Ozais (and her entire culture's) influence would've felt very unrealistic for a child.
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?
Yes that was bread Zuko threw at the turtle-duck. He says, “Hey mom, wanna see how Azula feeds turtle-ducks?” And the loaf floats. It just disappears in the next shot.
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
SO glad you went into the heart of Zuko's "remember who you are" moment. Good points all around, and I wholeheartedly agree on Azula.
I love how the Firelords decline in morality
-Sozin wants to share his prosperity with the world but ends up colonizing innocents, and over the years becomes paranoid after getting his ass handed to him by Roku
-Azulan continues his father's dictatorship and is more cruel, but has a twisted sense of honor. He's genuinely disgusted by Ozais request for the throne as his eldest son is grieving, but still gives Ozai a cruel punishment for speaking out of line and vying for power.
-Ozai does not care about anyone or anything except power. He ruthlessly punishes Zuko in the same way Azulan punished him, this time for speaking against one of his generals plans to butcher soliders.
-Azula is more of the same, and even seems to enjoy inflicting pain on people.
Azulon*
Sozin did not want to share his prosperity, the first thing he did was commit genocide
Power corrupts many of its holders
@@Artryom I think he meant Azula. He spoke of the increase in cruelty with new generations.
Yes! These guys make Azula of as this tragic character and in a way she is, but not for the reason you think. Ozai is not a monster from birth who corrupted an innocent child. At a point he, too, was a child. This is a hereditary thing, that's why it's tragic. Doesn't make Azula less evil.
I really hope we get an ''Aang losing his Staff'' counter at the end of this series
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 like how the war between the two nations actually feels like a war. There are different military units on both sides, some pretty much just militias which would be expected in an invasion of such a massive continent. There are refugees, war crimes and annexed territory
It just makes it feel real to me
Fun fact, this is the only episode without any appearance of Aang, Katara, or Sokka
Edit:
Please read the replies before making the exact same comment six times in a row. You're not creative.
Also, my point isn't that the gaang aren't in this episode but that they are in every other episode. Like, they still appear in The Beach despite that episode almost entirely focusing on Zuko and the Elite Trio.
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
I loved the connection to his betrayal of the Fire Nation. But it’s also a connection to what he says to Ozai in the bunker. Personally I think he remembered this when saying it.
“The people are terrified of the Fire Nation! They don’t see our greatness! They hate us, and we deserve it!”
In the ending shots we see how even though he saved the boy and put the bullies in their place, they still hate him and are afraid that he’ll hurt them next. He got to see this hatred first hand.
A painful reminder of what Ozai's legacy is like
I think the over-the-top child Azula was a hint that there was a mixture of bad parenting, favoritism, cultural influence, and maybe even some hints that Azula took to things rather quickly ...including realising the position of power she was in.
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.
1:50 super late to the party, but live, wet wood burns much more slowly than wood that has been dead and drying for a while. You absolutely can use freshly cut branches to raise food off of the coal bed to cook.
More evidence for pigs: the guy who approaches the family to talk about the war crimes of the fire nation also tells Zuko he shouldn't "bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs".
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
1:58 when Zuko changes his mind about highway robbery, we hear the tsungi horn. This is the instrument of both the blue spirit (Ursa’s influence) and Iroh’s influence.
That little moment where young Zuko approaches Ozai gets me every time. Ozai hates weakness, and I believe that his refusal to turn around and face his kid in this moment is his attempt to hide his real emotions about losing Ursa (however horrible he was to her). To me, it's the closest thing he gets to character depth
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 would like to see more of Iroh during these flashbacks . Like seriously, Iroh just lost his son, almost lost Zuko, lost his father and sister-in-law, then suddenly Ozai has got the throne and doesn't show any sadness or grief about the situation. He must've think there's some sh*t going on here
A new take: Lee throwing egg at the bandit's head results in world peace
I think it makes sense that Azula was that cartoonishly evil. By that time, she probably started to notice how her father acts, and began to emulate him, but because she’s a child, she’s really over the top and caricature-like with it
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
Hey guys, if you liked the video, do me a favour and leave a like! Really helps with the algorithm and what have you.
One of the cutest parts of this episode is that
Zuko and Mai named their Child after the fountain they fell into when they were younger
I actually never got why Zuko's mother had to leave until you mentioned that she killed the fire lord, and holy shizzle, the lamp
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
Whoever cant believe Azula would act that way as a child clearly hasn't seen
A. How manipulative little sisters can be.
B. How terrible some children act without parenting.
Now it would have been cool to get an Azula flashback from her perspective, maybe starting just a year or two younger, or even an Ozai flashback of him regretting how he raised her.
Edit* thanks for the spellcheck
Flashback*
He wouldn’t regret it
Man if Azula was more subtle as a kid it would have made aang’s case of “even the fire lord can be good” thing in season 3 way more believeable
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.
On the roofing scene, I think it speaks to 2 things.
The first thing has been discussed elsewhere (Zuko is a prince and wouldn't have learned any trade skills) but also...Zuko has been shown to be naturally unskilled at pretty much everything he does. He has to train and work hard to pick up any skills.
It wouldn't make any sense for his character for him to do anything well the first time he tries it.
I like how in that last shot of zuko riding out of the town, all the villagers are watching zuko go but lee looks away. Like even though he said he hates zuko, and he probably does in a lot of ways, you can see it still hurts him to watch zuko go
That one scene where Azula is learning cartwheels from Ty Lee - even at that age, Azula (maybe influenced by Ozai) chose Mei and Ty Lee as her friends instead of other firebending girls at the academy. And that's because they both had skills that she didn't. And we can see her in this episode learning those skills, to make her more than *just* a prodigy firebender.
We see the payoff of all those years of training in Day of Black Sun when she moves around like Ty Lee and then attacks Sokka with Mei's shurikens.
When he overanalyzes Korra: ''Oww and there goes the bending''
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.
One thing I really like about Zuko and also highlights Ozai's shortsightedness is Zukos abilities with his swords. The skill he shows with them is prodigious. If Ozai had recognized this and nurtured Zuko's talent by providing him a master who could teach him how to incorporate his weapons into his bending I think he could have been as lethal as Azula!
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
No mention of the couple with the pregnant woman being the same the Gaang runs into later in the Serpent's Pass?
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
"they're just two parts of the same whole." as a massive sword nerd, I love this line.
dual wielding identical weapons was very uncommon throughout history as using one large weapon in both hands gives you more reach and striking force, while combining a smaller weapon with a shield gives much more defensive options but it's far from having it's own merits. Which Zuko shows off with the stances he uses. He swings one weapon like he's binding or deflecting the opponent with one weapon and following it up with the other.
The line works so well because a swordsman can't treat the tools he's using like an isolated item, whether it's a second weapon, a shield, or different parts of a single weapon, they are all part of a whole and the animators, and writers were dead on showing a fighting style that proves that.
most games or shows treat dual wielding as just extra damage or faster attacks, but this show gets martial arts so right.
I feel like Iroh may have gone off into the war before he really got to know Azula giving her a gift that she doesn't appreciate prompting her to think that her father as firelord would be better for her
Edit: Azula generally comes off as too strong in this episode, but I will defend a lot of them as the personal benefit to her outweighing any other feelings she might have
9:55 Oh wow I never noticed that moment where Zuko and Azula are playing. That is wholesome in the fact that we actually see a glimpse of what their life COULD have been like
Honestly one of the best parts of these each week is him writing a little shout out to each of his patrons.
About the spider snake eyes, The thing is is that spiders already have the trait of having multiple eyes so it makes sense to add on more when you add the snake part- but turtle ducks only have one pair of eyes because both of the combined animals only have one, they don’t have that additive eyes trait!
I actually have a response to the twigs not burning. When you're in a pinch and need to cook food, but have nothing, you burn dry wood, and use living branches to cook with. The live wood still has a lot of moisture, so it is burn resistant. Also in regard to Azulas psychopathic behavior at a young age, I actually think its incredibly well done of the show to have her behave like that. Psychopaths are actually born that way, where sociopaths often develop their behavior. I have met one true psychopath in my life, and they were very young. It was unnerving.
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 another reason for Iroh giving Azula the doll could be that he hasn't really known her that much. She is like 8(?) in the flashback and Iroh laid siege to Ba Sing Se for almost 2 years, and likely would have been gone even longer than that since you don't prepare for a siege in a day. This means its entirely possible that the last time he saw her she was 6 years old or likely even younger. Its reasonable to believe that she is a completely different person at this point, but the Iroh would have no way of knowing that being busy with Ba Sing Se.
If there's a million Lees... would it really be uncommon for Zuko to say his name is Lee to somebody else with the name Lee? That'd be like "Oh no, this person is named John, too! What should I say?"
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
You know what may also be the reason why Azula is already so crazy as a child? It's a flashback from Zuko after all. His memory may not be quite accurate and eventually Azula said things differently. But we can only see how Zuko remembers his sister and what she (in his mind) has said back then.
I hope we can one day see a 'Avatar: The Last Airbender writers react to Overanalyzing Avatar'
You're hilarious and insightful, and you say a lot of things that make me really curious how the writers would respond.
Also I'm really happy to see you devote the time this episode deserves.
I love that we can still see the Iroh we know in the flashback, even if he's very different.
He's still got a lot of respect for Ba Sing Se as a powerful city, and only talks about burning it down as a joke. Sounds like he's trying to joke about their overwhelming power being too much to leave anything behind just to put the kids' minds at ease since he doesn't want them to worry about a loved one getting hurt in the battle.
I think Azula's attitude in this episode is actually just how Zuko remembers her, so she might not actually be that psychotic yet, but that's how Zuko remembers it
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.
I could definitely see Azula acting like this. Children mimic their parents, good or bad. As a teacher I’ve heard kids say extremely alarming things only an adult would say... then I meet their parents and it’s quite obvious they are just saying what they hear at home.
Azula clearly wants her fathers approval and power one day so she mimics and repeats everything she’s heard him say.
17:07 Love that you’re eventually gonna tear into this. Azulon was firelord for 23 years? Zozin was already an old man when he began the hundred year war? The length of the war in relation to the ages/amounts of generations in Zuko’s family always bothered me as a kid. I know it gets sorta explained away by Azula, but still.
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.
The more you watch movies and shows/learn about the way traditional Japanese samurai acted under the bushido code, the more you see those codes and traditions play out in the fire nation, which of course was based on imperial Japan. No one is ever going to read this. But it does blow my mind that me learning about history and culture in the real world actually makes events and characters in this show make even more sense, and it grows my appreciation for this show, which the more you study it you realize that it’s the best written piece of fiction ever to touch a television screen. It will never get that full credit, but it seriously is that, the best written piece of fiction to ever touch a television screen
the "fuck you money" patreon shoutouts are honestly one of the best parts about these episodes.
I love the attention to detail that sends zuko grew up a noble he definitely wouldn't know how to really work and clearly doesn't know how to put together a roof
Overanalyzing the overanalysis:
Zuko put 9 bent nails into a singe roof tile because he has never learned the skill of driving in nails. He may have learned to swing a hammer as a combat style, but he grew up in a privileged house and never had to do any of the manual labor needed to keep up a palace. Even after he was banished, he was given a fully crewed ship that he didn't really have to do anything on to make it run. The fact that he was struggling with a single roof tile made perfect sense to me since he's most likely never hammered a nail in his entire life.
While I agree that it would have been nice to see Azula as something other than a psychopathic douchenozzle, I think her early behavior is used to show the split in their family. Both Zuko and Iroh are given troubled pasts which lead them toward becoming the good people that they always were. Both were merely shaped early on by their family's propensity to be ruthless and cruel as a means of control. Conversely, Azula and Ozai flourished in their cruel natured home life. It seems like everyone in Zuko's family is either predominantly good but drawn toward the dark side, or just a straight up evil moustache twirling villain. That makes me wonder if old man Zuko in LoK had some really twisted unwanted son chained up in an attic like Zelda in Pet Semetary.
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.
You know, it was such a throwaway line, but now that you called attention to it, a spider snake would be truly terrifying
If the twigs were live when they were cut and used recently after it's basically impossible to burn them normally. I run a forge regularly, and my solid fuel forge won't run on green wood at all, stuff won't even ignite at around 1200f until all the water escapes, which can take a long while at normal campfire temperatures.
^^^^^^^^
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
A nice little tidbit that you missed. Notice how he announces himself. "I am Zuko, son of Ursa and Firelord Ozai, prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the Throne."
Zuko lists his MOTHER as the most important thing about his identity. I refuse to believe that was just am accident
Just want to point of that the guy saying “cmon spider snake eyes” implies the existence of a spider-snake in this world. The nopest of ropes if you will
Do NOT look up what a centipede is my guy
The rewatch value on your videos are amazing. Love seeing your stuff. Humor is top tier.
8:00 I think this was just meant to indicate that Iroh has always favored Zuko and simply wasn't very thoughtful in his gift to Azula, not knowing or caring whether she'd hate it or not.
It is worth noting that this episode is heavily based on a Kurosawa film called twin blades. Kurosawa pioneered the Samurai movie genre, giving us many tropes that we see everywhere today. His works were inspired by spaghetti westerns, which were in turn inspired by early American mythology based around cowboys and sharpshooters. So while you are technically correct, the real inspiration is Kurosawa films. Or the Ronin subgenre of Samurai films specifically.
I think I'm the only one who really enjoyed Azula's characterization. Like yeah, just make that family as fucked up as possible, I love it
Facts
Agreed
Just realized that when Iroh gets kidnapped in season one, when Zuko looks towards the Gaang on Appa, we see his scar facing towards the camera. When he looks towards saving his uncle, his unscarred side is showing. So much scar symbolism in this show!!
I take young Azulas character to her not caring/understanding how hurtful what she says is. She just speaks her mind, unfiltered. (Mostly). As she ages she realizes how much she gets from her actions and channels it towards her goals.
I think the spider snake eyes is in reference to how the one dot in the center is the snake eyes with the four on the outside combining to represent the spider legs.
As much as I agree with you, it makes more sense because
A. Zuko is older and doesn't meet expectations
B. Ozai was the second child and views himself as the prodigy and it makes sense that when his second kid comes out as the prodigy he would raise her to be him from her young young age.
C. She only doesn't have her mom's reinforcement for the same reason you mentioned zuko does. He wants his dad's love but goes to his mom for positive reinforcement before he tries to recreate it for his father. Azula gets blatant positive reinforcement for being awful and she KNOWS her mom would give her negative reinforcement for the exact things her father teaches. She doesn't try to shake up that balance because reason 2 BUT reason 1 is exactly why she sees her dad doesn't like zuko and it makes sense that she wouldn't want to shake up her dad's positive reinforcement
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.
no matter how many times i come back and watch Overanalyzing Avatar: Zuko Alone. i always realize that no one remebers the little cameo with lee talking about his brother Sun Tzu also known as the author of his book "The Art Of War" when Zuko taught Lee how to use the dual swords
Also, what exactly is the season? Sunflowers bloom in late summer to early fall. But it’s supposed to still be mid spring right now? And maybe not intentional, but sunflowers are an interesting symbolic representation of both earth and Fire. They are planted in the earth but have flowers shaped like the sun, like Agni the spirit of the sun. One of the few scenes with a firebender and an earth Kingdom kid being side by side peacefully, is in a field of sunflowers.
I just realised something. When Zuko finally firebends against the lead earthbender soldier/bully (and yes, breakdances), he beats him in literally two shots. To me, that shows just how weak the soldiers/bullies truly are and how unprepared they would be in the face of a Fire Nation invasion. It shows that they really are more of bullies than true soldiers.
Probably objectively the best episode. Breaks me every time it's so good.
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.
One thing I’m surprised you didn’t point out is that when Azula does her cartwheels, she falls. When Ty Lee does it successfully, Azula pushes her because no one’s allowed to be better than her. She’s constantly making other people smaller so she can be more successful. Just the attention to detail of these animators and writers man
Blue eyed Zuko. In the North Pole flashback, Zuko’s eyes are blue, not gold. That one bit of inconsistency in an otherwise iconic look always gets me. I mean, they could keep the bruises and cuts from his ship blowing up with him in it consistent for thee episodes, but mess up those distinctive gold eyes?
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
I never realized this until now, but Zuko's mother is named Ursa. *Ursa* as in the Latin for *bear* . She's really the best and only mother character we get to know in the series, and she's basically called *mama bear* .
I always liked the Old Western and Old Samurai film style of this episode.
While I do agree that flashback Azula was a little too maniacal, I do like the aspect the flashbacks introduced, mainly just how twisted and awful Zuko's past and childhood family life was really like.
Azulon: you must know the pain of losing a firstborn son by sacrificing your own!
Ozai: oh, Zuko? How convenient I hated his guts anyway
Agree about Azula. When i was showing this show to my small brother and he asked what's up with her, I couldn't say anything better than that she was being corrupted by Ozai since she was a toddler
Wait...when Azula said "maybe a nice earth kingdom family will adopt you" in the flashback...Thats kind of what was happening in the episode. I never noticed that until now
I read an interesting theory that Azulon truly ordered Ozai to give up Zuko, in the sense of Iroh adopting him. And then Ozai would rather kill Zuko than see that happen. And thence the plot grows.
Damn that would be a sad theory, I feel like that’s the best timeline for Zuko
On Azula, kids mimic their parents without understanding the implications of their actions all the time. If she’s spending all her time with Ozai, it’s only natural that she would repeat phrases and mannerisms that she observed from Ozai. Also, children are much more aggressive and manipulative by nature than adults are. They just don’t have enough power or wit to cause any lasting damage. So this seems completely in tune with her character to me
This video was almost as long as the episode itself!
I liked the observation about how skipping episodes with characters and how that affects our perception of time passing for them!
9:01 Whether it was intentional or not, I like how this scene is framed. Zuko’s unscarred half showing as he looks toward the direction Iroh went in. And in the next shot, his scarred half showing as he looks in the direction of Team Avatar; the scar is what bound him to chasing the Avatar for the longest time. To show that when he faces the direction of Team Avatar is really neat and something I didn’t notice until now.
I've always seen the full moon shining moment as Yue looking over team Avatar. Be it her giving them company, guidance, or an extra push.
so glad to see your channel still growing!
Technically speaking, you know nothing about the local system, including the moon's placement with respect to the planet and its revolution speed. For all you know it could work out so there's a full moon every other day.
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
This and the chase back to back is what got me hooked to the show
I also wish Azula's mean side would have been more subtle, but since the writers chose not to go that way, here are my thoughts on it:
She was born with traits naturally more similar to her dad. Those traits could have been used for good, but her dad got to her first. He quickly realized she was a prodigy, so he favored her and put her in environments where she would be rewarded for the negative side of those traits, which strengthened the behavior. She has most likely spent more time around her father or around people her father would deem good enough to be around her, which are probably pretty strict, mean people that share his ideals.
Azula is our direct glimpse into Ozai. All that she's saying, she most likely directly heard from Ozai and is repeating it. She's mimicking him because she'll get the most rewards if she does (rewards being his attention, praise, love, consideration, etc). I mean, just think about how strongly young kids believe in their parents’ beliefs (politics, religion). Kids at that age just spout off whatever they've heard at home. We get a lot of our morals from our parents, and since she felt less of a connection with Ursa, Ozai's beliefs are what she'd be internalizing the most.
“A real general would have stayed and burned Ba Sing Se to the ground, not lose the battle and come home crying.”
I wouldn't be surprised if lines like this are almost direct quotes from things she's overheard from Ozai. If her main parent isn't upset about what happened to her uncle, and she's grown to trust his opinion the most, then she wouldn't think to care either.
Basically, I don't think Azula is coming up with this all on her own. She wouldn't be saying things like this if Ursa had had a greater influence and connection with her. But I bet after Zuko was such a dud in Ozai's eyes, Ozai took special care to make sure that didn't happen to his second born.
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.
Definitely one of the best episodes of the series, easily top five
One issue I have though is with people who say this is their choice of episode to show someone to get them into ATLA...because honestly, I think this episode does a poor job of showing you what the series is about. The impactful moments will only resonate when you're already familiar and invested in the characters, and a lot of the things that make this episode work so well are choices that were made to deliberately break away from what you can normally expect in the show
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
I wonder if the animators and story writers appreciate what you are doing. Not every show gets to see a deeply analytical take in a video essay form.
1:25 i saw someone point out that that may be the same battlefield that Avatar Wan(first avatar) died on
Well, about the gift for Azula, Iroh had been away for at least two years, after all, his attack on the city is named "the 600 Days siege of Ba Sing Se" so, counting the time needed to leave the fire nation, so again, he must had been away for two years, it's a long time and he probably imagined more the little Azula he knew.
Honestly I always just took Azula’s behavior at that age to show that she truly had antisocial personality disorder. Hell Zuko’s line “Wanna see how Azula feeds turtle ducks?” Implies he’s seen her attacking the ducks, torturing and harming animals for pleasure is a common sign children lack empathy.
No way would Ozai have gotten away with skipping Iroh in the succession. Not with that I happened to be with my father when he died and he happened to tell only me that he wanted to skip my older brother in the succession. You know the one, the war hero. They call him the Dragon of the West.
Honestly even if Iroh didn't want to challenge for the throne, I think the army may've took the initiative on their own to correct this injustice.
Young Azula's behaviour very much feels like she's mimicking or repeating after Ozai. When she's with friends and playing, she's mischeivious and manipulative, but not overly malicious. Hell, I would argue that in fountain scene she was trying to help Zuko and Mai get together, just in her own way. And when Azula told Zuko about him going to be gotten rid of as a punishement, she seems like she wants to mess with Zuko, but once again in non malicious way. It's just something she likes to do to Zuko as a way of killing time. It's not manipulative, it's not even cold and subtle. Also, even when she's teasing him, her first option there is that he's going to be given away.
Also, we know that Ozai preffered Azula over Zuko. It wouldn't be that unbelievable that he convinced her into believing that getting rid of Zuko was inevetable. Calculated Azula knowing that wouldn't tell anyone about Ozai's punishement. But young azula did, and she was excited about that.
Feelings never were Azula's strong point, and that I believe Ozai made sure she would be that way on purpose. He made sure so she know how to exploit feelings of other people, while not only being unable to properly process them herself, but also not able to find calm and balance without Ozai.
Azula was at her most efficient and dangerous when she was obeying Ozai. When he left her, she broke almost immediately.
Holy shit that's some good shit right there, you're absolutely right