“Strike me. You’ve never held back before.” Was one of the most emotional things I’ve heard on TV. That scene showcases how troubled Zuko is in such a profound way
I think this scene was based on a very similar one you see in Forrest Gump. Lieutenant Dan is a broken man, a double amputee who genuinely desired a glorious death in combat as it was family tradition. In a dismissive, mean spirited joke, he sarcastically agreed to join the crew of Forrest's fishing boat if he could ever afford one. When they're out to sea, they encounter a nasty storm- it ends up being a hurricane that cripples the fleets of their competitors. Lieutenant Dan painfully hoists himself up on the rigging and shouts challenges at the storm. They either reach the calm 'eye' of the hurricane, or leave its effects very suddenly. Lieutenant Dan then throws himself overboard, and swims in a back-stroke reminiscent of a crucifix. Forrest then mentions that he thinks "Lieutenant found God that day" A very similar thing is happening to zuko here, and I can't shake the feeling that the two scenes are effectively twins
The parallels between Zuko and Aang are amazing, I saw somewhere that mentioned Zuko's face being scarred because he faced everything head on, meanwhile Aang has scarring on his back showing that he chose to turn his back on the world and run away.
I feel it's unjust given the fact that the scar is given from mistakes at Ba Sing Se, and especially in how it plays into the finale. If it came for example from being struck by lightning during his runaway, then it would be perfect provided he survives somehow. But otherwise it's not a great parallel to draw.
Indeed it was not his father but his own actions that restored Zuko's honor. Just as Zuko forged his own destiny, so we forge ours with our own everyday actions and decisions including the ones that no one sees and have seemingly little impact on the world.
"You know, Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."
you know ATLA is on another level when a 1 hour and 20 minute video analyzing someone who isn't even the main character sites works by actual philosophers.
I don't remember where I saw it, but someone once pointed out that the true beauty in Zuko's story is the very moment he's introduced, because of Iroh. through Iroh we're shown that Zuko is someone who is loved, and worthy of love, by a character we're presented as someone to be liked by us. we barely know him, and yet we see he's calm, grounded, with a strong moral fiber, and most of all, he's kind and gentle. and if someone as kind and gentle as Iroh finds goodness in Zuko, so should we. and the entire rest of the series is built on showing us what Iroh saw all along, fulfilling the very first episode's subtle promise.
When you bring up Iroh, i think another moment that should be pointed out is where Zuko finds Appa but before he can do anything, Iroh find him and gets brunt with the conversation. Pointing out Zuko isn't thinking things through. He nearly froze to death. He's following a path that someone else assigned to him and eventually asks him the BIG question. "WHO ARE YOU? And what do YOU want?"
It’s a nice thought but that doesn’t show anything about zuko. It’s 100% about iroh as a character. It’s about him seeing good in everyone (except Azula). He even sees this in a guy that’s trying to mug him 🤣.
@@lconnerz100 hey, it's ok that it went over your head, things like this aren't really meant to be noticed by a casual viewer consciously. the fact that you don't/can't see it is just a sign of good storytelling.
I've always found it ironic that the first villain of the show is really the character the shows the best examples of balance. Aang is the physical embodiment but in AtLA world Zuko is the character that most people could relate to, even characters in show. The more you learn about his story the more you can see how Zuko is extremely relatable to all walks of life. From a peasant to a King, Zuko knows about how they live. The show feels like it's Zuko's story and everyone else is a B character. He's the real hero of the show, he takes on the greatest burden, of turning against your own people to save them. Zuko goes against everything he was taught to do what was right.
I always did feel like Zuko had the better arc for a main character. Yeah, Aang is the one it's named after, and he does have a good arc, but Zuko's is just so much more meaningful to me and feels so utterly instrumental to the show and the world as a whole. The war ends because of Zuko, rather than the cycle just perpetuating. In any other story an arc like his would have been the main character's. That's the real beauty of AtLA's writing, it isn't just about one person. There are two main characters to this show, they're just on different sides of the conflict for most of it. With most writers one main character being done so well is a feat in of itself, but they managed it with two here.
You are right i only watch the live action and by the end of it the only character i love was zuko and iroh . some fan was mad that the creater are focus on zuko more than Aang because his scenes was the best in the show and every one was liked him more than all characters but actually that not the issue his character are better than other he never was a villain the fire nation force him to put a mask of cruelty because if he show some kind or love they shamely accuse him to be weak and even hurt him because of that so he learn from the hard way to not have feelings to not show feelings 😢 he are the best character like you said he are like a main character and other like b side character actually i have seen some reaction to the his scenes they all interest in zuko side story more than Aang they after seen the eps they keep mention zuko things it the same for me his scenes his fight was perfect
I really like everyone's thoughts in the comments section there's a lot of people pointing out really cool stuff. I think that the reason his arc hits as hard as it does, is partly because he's not a main character. Him being not a constant focus, gives him time to focus on his gradual shift when he's there, without the episodes feeling slow. We don't fully know how he's going to shift for a lot of it either, it was going to be based on his choices. Since he wasn't tied to being an antagonist or a protagonist, it was less obvious where he would go. If he was the main character it could be easy to assume he'll change for the better. Especially with kids as the target demographic. I don't even know if nickelodeon would have given it a pass, if the main character was an abused angsty teenager who was going to do a lot of bad things for morally dubious reasons. Having main characters that were much more good centric gave zuko room to be himself and grow in the great way he did. He would be an awesome main character though
I love how Zuko's and Azula's bending reflect their character progression. The day he faces his father is the day we get to see him as a truly powerful bender. When he faces Azula during the comment. He displays bending truly worthy of a firelord.
I remember sitting down for the first episodes, airing on Nickelodeon for the first time, the same exact age as Aang was at the time, eyes bright and wide at this beautiful thing that I knew already went way past a normal cartoon. When Zuko threatened the water villagers and Aang heroically stepped up, I remember being taken aback, amazed that Zuko agreed without any bargaining or demands that he'd let the villagers go, so long as his true objective, capturing the Avatar, was reached. He nodded and left, no one being extra aggressive and spitting fire at the villagers for extra fear just 'cause Evil Things. That's what I based "honor" on after that. Zuko was my basis of honor as I grew to learn and understand it and he still is today.
28:20 I'd also like to point out that when Zuko leaves Iroh, he lets Iroh keep almost everything he stole, only taking necessities with him. Zuko always loved his uncle.
The frame when Zuko sees Song's scars and his eyebrows raise in shock, almost makes me cry every time. Just how he can be so appalled by the damage done in the war, the pain his nation had caused, yet so fiercely conflicted about his own destiny, is all there. 27:48
I never understood why people don't enjoy the King of Omashu episode. Sure it's technically a "filler" episode as it does little to drive the central plot forward but it's still a lot of fun. Bumi is one of the more entertaining and enjoyable characters in the show and trying to solve the riddle of what his name is right along with Aang was good viewer interaction. Then learning about there past friendship was cool also. Plus that episode gave us the cabbage guy so it's automatically goated.
Plus, it's an introduction to when we really start seeing how drastically the war changes things. The next time we see Bumi, Omashu has been taken over by the fire nation. And after that, we discover him to be in a secret society with Iroh, Jeong-Jeong, Master Piandao, and Pakku.
@@dx.feelgood5825very true. It’s a great world building episode. It’s the first time we really get to see the practical uses of earth bending in a society. That then gets further fleshed out in Ba Sing Se. We also get the origin story of Omashu an episode earlier, so it makes sense to take some time exploring it.
@@thecr3at0r75 and Bumi is also the only person besides Aang who lived before the war! He’s a walking history book!! Plus he also allows Aang to still experience *some* familiarity
@@dx.feelgood5825 don’t forget my man guru Pathik. Although Pathik knew Gyatso, he and Aang didn’t meet until the show. So that does leave Bumi as his last human tie to his old life and, like you said, give him that familiarity. Plus he gives Aang advise on what he should look for in an earthbending teacher and sets that next quest into motion proper.
This was really beautifully done. Zuko is a near-perfect execution of the villain redemption story. And when one casts even the most casual glance over fan fiction as a whole, it becomes clear how desperate people are to see redemption. I see something moving in that, in fans re-writing young villainous characters, like Draco Malfoy, for example, allowing them to grow out of their "evil," their damage, their selfishness. And what strikes me even more is how rare redemption appears in pop culture. Not to mention how much rarer it is to see it done this well. But I think this video demonstrates why it's so rare. Look at how meticulously Zuko's redemption is seeded, nutured, and allowed to bloom in its own time. It's not rushed. As you point out, his backsliding is an essential part of his growth. When he traveled with Uncle Iroh, Iroh's was the voice of wisdom. But so long as Iroh was voicing it, it wasn't internal. Zuko needed to be away from Iroh to find his own voice. But it was a bold choice. When characters like Zuko backslide, they run the risk of frustrating the audience, who can clearly see the better path and desperately want the character to just hurry up and be a better person. Mad Men lost a chunk of its audience when Don Draper abandoned his path of self-examination, dumped his therapist girlfriend, and married another fantasy girl. It's horrible to watch someone being duped by their own shadow, all the more so because we don't like admitting how it can happen to us. But that's what made this show so good. It didn't take the easy path to character redemption. It allowed Zuko to hit bottom. And part of hitting bottom is getting everything your shadow wants, and realizing how empty it is. The shadow is a hungry ghost, and what it craves feeds nothing alive, nothing that grows but hunger. That's why Azula functions as such a perfect dark mirror for Zuko. She has everything that he wants, except none of it nourishes her. It feeds only her hunger, and rather than sating it, makes it grow. Azula craves control, and like everyone, what she seeks to control are her own feelings. Because she's so gifted, she uses her genius to master her world, winning her father's respect, her friends' loyalty, her peoples' fear. But mastering everyone around her doesn't actually master her own feelings. That's her illusion, and one that was always doomed to fail her. It sets her up to maintain control of everyone and everything around her in order to keep her inner turmoil from overcoming her. And that control is impossible to maintain forever. And like Zuko, Azula too gets everything she wants, and it destroys her. Because even though she has everything, her inner turmoil doesn't go away. Until she became ruler of the Fire Nation, she always had something to hope for, something that would, at last, satisfy her cravings. When she discovers that it doesn't, that she still feels empty and unsatisfied, that's when she begins to fall apart. Because she realizes in her soul that, even if she controls the whole world, this empty feeling is beyond her control. Zuko's failure with his father, his ordinariness in contrast to Azula's brilliance, ultimately saved him. Because he learned to master the one thing she couldn't, his own soul. While Azula will always be tormented by unquenchable cravings. Zuko learned that his torment came from within. He needed something that didn't exist, his father's love. He let the illusions and lies of his world turn that need into a desire to win back his father's approval, to regain "honor," to master his world again. But once he realized the true nature of his need, he realized he already had it, not from the man he called father, but from the man who loved him unconditionally, and had been trying to give him what he needed all along. Azula, unable to look within, can never learn the true nature of her needs. Her brilliance taught her the wrong lesson, that anything in the world can be mastered. So she invested all her will in mastering everything in the world but herself. She remains a mystery to herself, unable to step outside and see who and what she really is, and really needs.
Easily one of my favourite videos on youtube, I’m glad to see this reuploaded. Thanks for this amazing work and lets hope the copyright gods leave it alone.
Eh, he just summarizes everything that happen with Zuko in the series. If you watched the show and paid attention, this video doesn't offer much Edit: Nevermind, the Honor Supercut at the end makes this entire video gold
That sucks the original got removed by copyright, but at least that gives me an excuse to watch this masterpiece again, especially now that it’s remastered. Hopefully this gets as much attention as it did when you first uploaded. Keep up the great work!
"The Storm" is my favorite episode in the series, for whatever reason it has stuck with me more than any other. Everyone being forced into indoor closed spaces telling stories in the dark just reminds me of the power outages my childhood home would get during thunderstorms. My family would gather around one another with some candles for warmth while my mother told me stories as I rested my head on her lap to ease my anxiety. I think "The Storm" is the reason I find so much comfort during rainstorms.
I took something different from the end of Zuko Alone and the “happy Zuko” from Bosing Se. The former showed him not so much that he was mistaken in revealing himself, but that he didn’t realize the horrible weight that identity held. It gave him a greater sense of the possible responsibility he bares for their suffering and situation. “Happy Zuko” wasn’t really Zuko. He never goes back to that personality after he leaves it because he wasn’t HIM. He was someone else. Zuko isn’t fully good when he’s just living a normal life. He HAD to redeem the Fire Nation. He couldn’t find or feel at home in the Earth Kingdom because he didn’t belong there. His DUTY was to the Fire Nation but not in the way he thought.
Exactly, this is what I was thinking. “Happy Zuko” what he thought his uncle wanted. I got the same feeling about when he revealed himself. In the Painted Lady the town was going to turn on Katara but because of her allies she was able to have them see the truth but as the Title says Zuko is alone, no allies to help him.
I really like the detail that the fire nation has superior technology to the other nations; fire, afterall, is heavily associated with, among other things, innovation and technological progress.
Plus, it makes sense in terms of worldbuilding as well. The fire-nation lived on a volcanic archipelago that was rich with metals, and their placement in the ocean forced them to become a sea-faring nation. They were pretty much set up to learn metal-working and get a navy.
@@jimboanimations4041imperial japan esque. japan as an island nation also lacked natural resources so they were forced to i bc add neighboring nations to fuel their population boom.
As an abuse survivor who moved from the countryside to a city a few months back I never realized how hard Zuko in tales of Ba sing Se would hit me once I’d actually moved, it’s just… so much and done so well, I love this show
Highly underrated content creator right here. It isn’t hard to find creators that make content like this, it is hard to find the good ones. Excellent script, combined with fitting and well edited clips of the show to match.
I’m only 17 minutes and 47 seconds into this video, and i see no reason why i shouldn’t have you in my subscriptions This video has such passion, it’s so genuine and encapsulating. Absolutely bravo, my good sir
I find it hard to watch this video without becoming emotional, because it so wonderfully yet simply explains the character and journey of Zuko, which I personally have some similarities to. This is truly an amazing video, fueled by an amazing character. Well done :)
I'm crying. Several moments in this series had me in tears every time I rewatch, Zuko reconciling with his uncle is definitely the one that has me sobbing. It's the type of thing I wish real families could find themselves living out more often.
there will never again be a show like atla, its a time capsule of the hard work creators in the 2000's put in for the sake of making something important.
31:32 I think you misinterpreted the turtleduck scene. Zuko wasn’t cruel, he was naive. He was copying Azula to humor his mother, not understanding that his actions were bad. It was mindless violence, yes, but not cruelty. There was no malice in him, which was one of the main points of the show. Azula and Ozai were driven by selfishness and malice, desiring their actions for their own sake. Zuko only ever driven towards evil through manipulation and a sense of right that was twisted by his family and nation. Just as with the turtleducks - he was deluded into thinking that his actions were good.
I hope this is never taken down again but also really grateful for the reminder to watch it again. Favourite redemption arc in the history of redemption arcs. Thank you for the beautiful video
I don't even know if I'll necessarily like all of your content or anything, but I HAVE to subscribe after this masterpiece of a video essay. So many video essays on youtube these days and many are absolute trash ramblings of someone who doesn't have a clue what they're talking about, and clearly is just regurgitating the same things other video essays have said. But you captured a critical viewpoint for what makes Zuko's story one of a generation and one that illustrates how to grow up to be a good man, and a good human.
I think that scene where zuko is wearing the bandage on his eye always makes me feel bad for him. He doesn’t want to do the mission he’s been venturing on for years, he’s sadden because he knows that he’s only being shoved away from his home and his family. It’s such a subtle delivery but he’s reluctant and looks away when he says he’ll capture the avatar. You can feel the fear of a teenager being thrown into a vicious world by and even more vicious force that he’s known to be tyrannical, ill tempered and vile.
"Come on, strike me. You've never held back before." This goddamn line man, gets me every time. A man who has been constantly beaten down after getting back up, to the point where he seemingly has no choice but to blame the world. He tries and tries but fails to get what he wants every time (at least what he thinks he wants, not really what he needs). While his efforts were mostly misplaced and misdirected, there was no way for him to know at that time, and certainly not at that age. Truly heartbreaking, and masterfully done by the voice actor.
Your work is unparalleled, and the effort put into this essay is truly astonishing. This was always one of my favorite videos, and I'm so unbelievably happy you re-uploaded
i was gonna say. thought i already saw and LOVED this video. But in any case, it's a well done essay. so i'll like it again. Actually it's more like a freaking dissertation. But Zuko's character arc is easily one of my absolute favorites in television. (rivaled only perhaps by Spike from Buffy, because that journey is something to behold as well). Zuko's story is so moving (and as someone who comes from an abusive background, wildly relatable too). And i LOVE the way you break it down in this video
Nearly started crying when hearing that Music. There is no show more influential to my being than this. There is so much things they did right, and to think that all this happened under the premisse of being a „quirky kids show“ is nothing but crazy.
1:10:30 A turning point in my life was when I had a similar conversation with my father (for similar reasons). Because I had seen Zuko stand up for himself and redirect that attack when I was a kid, I stayed calm during that confrontation. I could focus on letting my father's nastiness pass cleanly through and out of me, which completely disarmed him
i enjoyed watching this so much, i started tearing up during some scenes :( when he was screaming at the sky during the storm, his father burning him, his apology to uncle iroh aaaah 😭😭😭
1:02:19 i wanna also point out that zuko's scar is not only the symbol of [his trauma which eventually leads him to end the cycle of violence], but it's also a symbol of the violence inflicted upon him for trying to do good (in that specific instance standing up for the fire nation soldiers they wanted to sacrifice). like it's the consequences of acting out against power, because they want to keep you in line. also the whole war meeting thing brings up another thing about culture and nationalism. zuko says that those soldiers are fighting for their country (or that they love the fire nation or something) and the generals just act like they're disposable. like, those soldiers love a nation that doesn't care at all for them, that only serves its own interests and is willing to use them as pawns to do it.
37:00 this scene still gets me, if he'd have had the wisdom of late series Zuko he might have said something like "We don't Choose our Fathers" which would have meant something totally different to him and the villagers.
the moment you mentioned carl jung and shadow is when this became one of my favourite videos ever. both shadow work and atla contributed to the biggest jump in my development, and now it all makes sense as in how connected it is.
Just finished watching the entire thing, and I'm so glad someone made a video on this. Zuko is by far my favorite character in all of media entertainment, and you perfectly described what makes him so special. Your insight, dialogue, editing, score, and scenes were amazingly done. Thank you for this masterpiece of a video, you don't know how long I was waiting for an in-depth analysis and appreciation video of Zuko. You earned yourself a subscribed and a well-deserved like. Thank you.
you better be proud of how this video moves me to tears on, like, 6 separate occasions. fuck i love Zuko and i love you for making this for all of us!!😭😭💖
It's not only a story but a good reminder of fighting with your own darkness that anybody can find right path no matter how hard life will be. I saw Avatar first time in 2012 since then so many times I came back and left again Everytime I came back for Uncle Iroh wisdom and Zuko story his redemption arc
This is my most favorite video on youtube! I don't know how much time I have watched this video. Kinda works as a mental therapy for me. I'm very glad it's back.
I still remember that when zuko and iroh met again and iroh told him he never hated him, a 12 year old me cried for the first time in years. One of the greatest shows ever made.
What makes this series so special is that today you next to never see such good morals and values portrayed in series today. So much that is shown in media today is ill moral and deranged
God this made me so emotional by the end! I love this show and all of its characters but especially Zuko. Now I need to rewatch it again for like the 10th time.
At 18:12, seeing the visualization of Zuko turning his back on his nation's flag seemed to me that Zuko was just uncomfortable of laying on one position. I never did great at understanding literature and composition analysis topics, so seeing you explain Zuko's turning was more a body language thing made every scene much more detailed upon another viewing. Great analysis and great video!
Just binged The Last Airbender yet again and I wanted to go on social media and declare THE LEGEND OF KORRA IS *NOT* CANON and then I saw this video on my home page and thought this was the perfect place to write that. Thanks. :-)
I think the explanation is that it is Aaron Ehasz was Head Writer of this series, but was left out of The Legend of Korra. I have no idea who he is, but, apparently, he's the one with the talent.
@@michaelawilliams He was a writer on ATLA. But don't give him too much credit. He is a lead writer on the dragon prince, and the writing on that show is so hilariously bad, it's impressive really. Korra isn't nearly as bad as everyone seems to think it is.
One of my favorite details I noticed is that in The Guru, it’s stated the Fire Chakra is located in the stomach; it deals with Willpower, and is blocked by Shame. This is why Zuko cannot generate lightning himself, his Fire Chakra is blocked because of the shame he feels. When Iroh teaches Zuko how to redirect lightning, he tells him how important it is for the lightning to pass through his stomach-where the Fire Chakra is. This finally leads to the showdown between Zuko and Ozai: Zuko finally casts aside the shame he felt and was defined by and stands up to his father. He redirects the lightning Ozai shoots at him-unlocking his Fire Chakra. Of course he doesn’t master it until The Firebending Masters, where his desire to help Aang becomes the willpower to properly utilize the Chakra.
Brilliant character study! Zuko is my favorite ATLA character, and this video does such a good job as to underline why. (I love Iroh too, it's kind of a tie tbh)
Aang is the main character, but both he and Zuko are the protagonists. They are perfect foils and serve each other's stories amazingly. There's a reason he's a lot of people's favorite character
Evil is simply the absence of good. It's really easy to just not do something, wander aimlessly, so it's easy to be evil. It's much more difficult to follow a certain path and follow a set of morals. But you can't reach a goal without having that goal in mind, so evil by its nature can offer no truth or solutions.
I feel like it's more than just a devil's bargain, and that makes it hit all the stronger when he realizes what it really is: the dark mirror of redemption. In some ways, it is a kind of redemption arc. Take away the abuse at the hands of his father, the trauma inherent to his upbringing, the lack of empathy that is a cornerstone of Fire Nation society... It is a by-the-numbers redemption story. The prodigal son returns, bringing back a great prize, he gets his position back, a hero's welcome, and even gets the girl... But it's not the son who gambled and drank his fortune away returning to his father's farm, it's a cult member who had gotten out returning to their open, abusive arms; it's a former pusher-addict getting sober but relapsing and returning to his old dealer. In wars, the heroes on one side are rarely heroic to those on the other.
Strange but honest testament to how great this show is; i have an AtLA hoodie and though cool as it is, it is single handedly my most complimented article of clothing. I wear a lot of media merch and rarely does it get complimented. However, when i wear that hoodie it's uncommon to go a day without at least a comment on it. It always makes my day to see people get genuinely excited over this hoodie lol
Zukos story is the perfect "Lion King" story of a banished prince that learns from his banishment to come back a worthy king for his nation, people, and the world.
49:27 the craziest part of this episode is the fact that zuko gains a moral compass and that compass nearly kills him because of all his past trauma. I honestly think zuko is my favorite character in the show! His character is so well done and the voice acting is amazing! He truly is the best example of a character finding balance and closure. The final Agni Kai is a perfect example of how zuko truly has become a master in his own right. if katara wasn’t the one that had to finish the fight and chain azula to that gutter we wouldn’t have gotten to see that zuko has truly become a hero! He legit saved her life by taking the lightning strike. in the very beginning of the fight he said let me handle this she’s slipping;he had two reasons for saying that 1 the roles are reversed and she is actually having a complete psychiatric breakdown and 2 he didn’t want to actively put katara in danger by making her fight a fire bender that’s cracked out because of the comet.
This is my humble opinion: Upon reflection, Zuko is the main character. Sure you could argue Aang has a minor character arc, but that ends when he stops running away from who he is. The true & main protagonist starts Antagonist but that ends up being a red herring. This show is criminally underrated.
i believe aang ans zuko are co-protagonists and that if the title was more accurate in story context wise it would avatar the last airbender and Zuko the banished prince
Something not often mentioned about Zuko, is how, he has been the most sympathetic depiction and most relatable characters for kids who grew up in poisonous environments. Zuko has always been an extremely important character to me, because I remember being as angry and as short tempered, growing up in an abusive, toxic and poisoning home. The fact this show, unlike so many other shows, shows Zuko capable of healing, deserving of love, deserving of kindness. Is so so important. And many more shows need to take risk like this. The angry, child who is traumatized is often not a topic talked about often. They always display traumatized children as often as quiet and shy and those who hide. And rarely do they show them as angry, volatile sometimes, because that's the only way they know how to handle pain, grief, and agony. Sorry I posted on a video from 9 months ago, but.
This is so well made! I had to stop a couple times to reflect on the things you said. Your ability to not just enjoy the series, but also see clearly what every episode wants to teach the viewer, is really astounding! Never would I have thought so deeply about the series alone. So thanks for the video!!
This is one of the best videos I've seen in a very long time, it honestly bring tears to my eyes reflecting on the ups and downs in Zuko's life. I feel we all have a lot to learn from everything you speak of Cardinal.
Always will be one of my favorite characters ever, and i watched a LOT of shows, but his story is just brilliant This is how an EARNED character redemption arc looks like, not just because the fans love some character so they pressure the writers to give them a redemption
This video is one of the best argumentative analysis ever done. And I just want to say I am sorry it was taken down. I appreciate that you reupload such a masterpiece so that we can continue to experience the same feelings that you tried to share with this narrative work However, in my personal opinion, and after listening the previous version at least 100 times and almost memorized all of it, i have to say that i preferred the former version. It just sad how the world war segment is cut, that added a high weight into some of the most important points of zuko's story. Another thing is that i feel that the former audio had more "expressed feelings", i remember that the voice that you had back then when you recorded this video was more expressive as if you have been experiencing some similar circumstances of personal growth and your tone and vocabulary fitted perfectly Now it just feels off when you change some expressions and re narrate some sentences. It would be awesome if you uploaded the previous version as a private video or subscribers only video.
i started this video manly just to have something on in the background at but quickly i started truly watching it wanting to know what you learnd from the story and from the characters we all love thank you
“Strike me. You’ve never held back before.” Was one of the most emotional things I’ve heard on TV. That scene showcases how troubled Zuko is in such a profound way
And that tear streaking down along with the rain 💔😭😭😭
“I’m angry at myself!” Got me good
I think this scene was based on a very similar one you see in Forrest Gump.
Lieutenant Dan is a broken man, a double amputee who genuinely desired a glorious death in combat as it was family tradition. In a dismissive, mean spirited joke, he sarcastically agreed to join the crew of Forrest's fishing boat if he could ever afford one. When they're out to sea, they encounter a nasty storm- it ends up being a hurricane that cripples the fleets of their competitors.
Lieutenant Dan painfully hoists himself up on the rigging and shouts challenges at the storm. They either reach the calm 'eye' of the hurricane, or leave its effects very suddenly. Lieutenant Dan then throws himself overboard, and swims in a back-stroke reminiscent of a crucifix. Forrest then mentions that he thinks "Lieutenant found God that day"
A very similar thing is happening to zuko here, and I can't shake the feeling that the two scenes are effectively twins
@@Grimpy970I love your retrospective, that scene always made me feel good about myself, and you tell it so well.
Definitely brings tears to my eyes every time. And also the reconciliation scene between Zuko and his uncle.
The parallels between Zuko and Aang are amazing, I saw somewhere that mentioned Zuko's face being scarred because he faced everything head on, meanwhile Aang has scarring on his back showing that he chose to turn his back on the world and run away.
Never thought of it that way. Genius
But also, they both end with a scar from an Azula's lightning, Aang in the back, Zuko in the chest.
And it could mean the same
Omg, that’s brilliant! I’ve never thought of that, but it’s true!
WOW, that is actually cool.
I feel it's unjust given the fact that the scar is given from mistakes at Ba Sing Se, and especially in how it plays into the finale. If it came for example from being struck by lightning during his runaway, then it would be perfect provided he survives somehow. But otherwise it's not a great parallel to draw.
He found the Avatar and reclaimed his honor…. Just not the way he expected to.
Indeed it was not his father but his own actions that restored Zuko's honor. Just as Zuko forged his own destiny, so we forge ours with our own everyday actions and decisions including the ones that no one sees and have seemingly little impact on the world.
"You know, Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."
Destiny is a funny thing.
you know ATLA is on another level when a 1 hour and 20 minute video analyzing someone who isn't even the main character sites works by actual philosophers.
I don't remember where I saw it, but someone once pointed out that the true beauty in Zuko's story is the very moment he's introduced, because of Iroh. through Iroh we're shown that Zuko is someone who is loved, and worthy of love, by a character we're presented as someone to be liked by us. we barely know him, and yet we see he's calm, grounded, with a strong moral fiber, and most of all, he's kind and gentle. and if someone as kind and gentle as Iroh finds goodness in Zuko, so should we. and the entire rest of the series is built on showing us what Iroh saw all along, fulfilling the very first episode's subtle promise.
That’s beautiful
This made me cry. Thank you
When you bring up Iroh, i think another moment that should be pointed out is where Zuko finds Appa but before he can do anything, Iroh find him and gets brunt with the conversation. Pointing out Zuko isn't thinking things through. He nearly froze to death. He's following a path that someone else assigned to him and eventually asks him the BIG question. "WHO ARE YOU? And what do YOU want?"
It’s a nice thought but that doesn’t show anything about zuko. It’s 100% about iroh as a character. It’s about him seeing good in everyone (except Azula). He even sees this in a guy that’s trying to mug him 🤣.
@@lconnerz100 hey, it's ok that it went over your head, things like this aren't really meant to be noticed by a casual viewer consciously. the fact that you don't/can't see it is just a sign of good storytelling.
I've always found it ironic that the first villain of the show is really the character the shows the best examples of balance. Aang is the physical embodiment but in AtLA world Zuko is the character that most people could relate to, even characters in show. The more you learn about his story the more you can see how Zuko is extremely relatable to all walks of life. From a peasant to a King, Zuko knows about how they live. The show feels like it's Zuko's story and everyone else is a B character. He's the real hero of the show, he takes on the greatest burden, of turning against your own people to save them. Zuko goes against everything he was taught to do what was right.
That’s because Zuko is the main character. He’s the frenemy of anime. He’s like vegeta or sasuke.
I was with you until you said it feels like Zuko’s story and everybody else is a B character, that’s going too far
I always did feel like Zuko had the better arc for a main character. Yeah, Aang is the one it's named after, and he does have a good arc, but Zuko's is just so much more meaningful to me and feels so utterly instrumental to the show and the world as a whole. The war ends because of Zuko, rather than the cycle just perpetuating. In any other story an arc like his would have been the main character's.
That's the real beauty of AtLA's writing, it isn't just about one person. There are two main characters to this show, they're just on different sides of the conflict for most of it. With most writers one main character being done so well is a feat in of itself, but they managed it with two here.
You are right i only watch the live action and by the end of it the only character i love was zuko and iroh . some fan was mad that the creater are focus on zuko more than Aang because his scenes was the best in the show and every one was liked him more than all characters but actually that not the issue his character are better than other he never was a villain the fire nation force him to put a mask of cruelty because if he show some kind or love they shamely accuse him to be weak and even hurt him because of that so he learn from the hard way to not have feelings to not show feelings 😢 he are the best character like you said he are like a main character and other like b side character actually i have seen some reaction to the his scenes they all interest in zuko side story more than Aang they after seen the eps they keep mention zuko things it the same for me his scenes his fight was perfect
I really like everyone's thoughts in the comments section there's a lot of people pointing out really cool stuff.
I think that the reason his arc hits as hard as it does, is partly because he's not a main character. Him being not a constant focus, gives him time to focus on his gradual shift when he's there, without the episodes feeling slow. We don't fully know how he's going to shift for a lot of it either, it was going to be based on his choices. Since he wasn't tied to being an antagonist or a protagonist, it was less obvious where he would go. If he was the main character it could be easy to assume he'll change for the better. Especially with kids as the target demographic. I don't even know if nickelodeon would have given it a pass, if the main character was an abused angsty teenager who was going to do a lot of bad things for morally dubious reasons. Having main characters that were much more good centric gave zuko room to be himself and grow in the great way he did.
He would be an awesome main character though
I love how Zuko's and Azula's bending reflect their character progression. The day he faces his father is the day we get to see him as a truly powerful bender.
When he faces Azula during the comment. He displays bending truly worthy of a firelord.
I remember sitting down for the first episodes, airing on Nickelodeon for the first time, the same exact age as Aang was at the time, eyes bright and wide at this beautiful thing that I knew already went way past a normal cartoon. When Zuko threatened the water villagers and Aang heroically stepped up, I remember being taken aback, amazed that Zuko agreed without any bargaining or demands that he'd let the villagers go, so long as his true objective, capturing the Avatar, was reached. He nodded and left, no one being extra aggressive and spitting fire at the villagers for extra fear just 'cause Evil Things. That's what I based "honor" on after that. Zuko was my basis of honor as I grew to learn and understand it and he still is today.
Not gonna lie, that's actually a great story!
"exact same age as Aang was at the time"
baller 110 year old
@@stolentrevin 🤣
@@stolentrevin I meaaan...I'm sure he literally hadn't aged a day in that iceberg, so let's knock off 100 years
This comment hits hard right now cuz yeah this all of this
28:20
I'd also like to point out that when Zuko leaves Iroh, he lets Iroh keep almost everything he stole, only taking necessities with him. Zuko always loved his uncle.
The scene where zuko redirects his fathers lighting but chooses not to kill him with it is arguably one of the greatest scenes in all of fiction
The frame when Zuko sees Song's scars and his eyebrows raise in shock, almost makes me cry every time. Just how he can be so appalled by the damage done in the war, the pain his nation had caused, yet so fiercely conflicted about his own destiny, is all there. 27:48
I never understood why people don't enjoy the King of Omashu episode.
Sure it's technically a "filler" episode as it does little to drive the central plot forward but it's still a lot of fun.
Bumi is one of the more entertaining and enjoyable characters in the show and trying to solve the riddle of what his name is right along with Aang was good viewer interaction. Then learning about there past friendship was cool also.
Plus that episode gave us the cabbage guy so it's automatically goated.
Plus, it's an introduction to when we really start seeing how drastically the war changes things. The next time we see Bumi, Omashu has been taken over by the fire nation. And after that, we discover him to be in a secret society with Iroh, Jeong-Jeong, Master Piandao, and Pakku.
@@dx.feelgood5825very true. It’s a great world building episode. It’s the first time we really get to see the practical uses of earth bending in a society. That then gets further fleshed out in Ba Sing Se. We also get the origin story of Omashu an episode earlier, so it makes sense to take some time exploring it.
@@thecr3at0r75 and Bumi is also the only person besides Aang who lived before the war! He’s a walking history book!! Plus he also allows Aang to still experience *some* familiarity
@@dx.feelgood5825 don’t forget my man guru Pathik. Although Pathik knew Gyatso, he and Aang didn’t meet until the show. So that does leave Bumi as his last human tie to his old life and, like you said, give him that familiarity. Plus he gives Aang advise on what he should look for in an earthbending teacher and sets that next quest into motion proper.
@@thecr3at0r75 ahhh that’s right. He only totally appears once, save for a hallucination, so it’s much easier to forget how goddamn old he is lol
This was really beautifully done. Zuko is a near-perfect execution of the villain redemption story. And when one casts even the most casual glance over fan fiction as a whole, it becomes clear how desperate people are to see redemption. I see something moving in that, in fans re-writing young villainous characters, like Draco Malfoy, for example, allowing them to grow out of their "evil," their damage, their selfishness. And what strikes me even more is how rare redemption appears in pop culture. Not to mention how much rarer it is to see it done this well.
But I think this video demonstrates why it's so rare. Look at how meticulously Zuko's redemption is seeded, nutured, and allowed to bloom in its own time. It's not rushed. As you point out, his backsliding is an essential part of his growth. When he traveled with Uncle Iroh, Iroh's was the voice of wisdom. But so long as Iroh was voicing it, it wasn't internal. Zuko needed to be away from Iroh to find his own voice.
But it was a bold choice. When characters like Zuko backslide, they run the risk of frustrating the audience, who can clearly see the better path and desperately want the character to just hurry up and be a better person. Mad Men lost a chunk of its audience when Don Draper abandoned his path of self-examination, dumped his therapist girlfriend, and married another fantasy girl. It's horrible to watch someone being duped by their own shadow, all the more so because we don't like admitting how it can happen to us. But that's what made this show so good. It didn't take the easy path to character redemption. It allowed Zuko to hit bottom. And part of hitting bottom is getting everything your shadow wants, and realizing how empty it is. The shadow is a hungry ghost, and what it craves feeds nothing alive, nothing that grows but hunger.
That's why Azula functions as such a perfect dark mirror for Zuko. She has everything that he wants, except none of it nourishes her. It feeds only her hunger, and rather than sating it, makes it grow. Azula craves control, and like everyone, what she seeks to control are her own feelings. Because she's so gifted, she uses her genius to master her world, winning her father's respect, her friends' loyalty, her peoples' fear. But mastering everyone around her doesn't actually master her own feelings. That's her illusion, and one that was always doomed to fail her. It sets her up to maintain control of everyone and everything around her in order to keep her inner turmoil from overcoming her. And that control is impossible to maintain forever.
And like Zuko, Azula too gets everything she wants, and it destroys her. Because even though she has everything, her inner turmoil doesn't go away. Until she became ruler of the Fire Nation, she always had something to hope for, something that would, at last, satisfy her cravings. When she discovers that it doesn't, that she still feels empty and unsatisfied, that's when she begins to fall apart. Because she realizes in her soul that, even if she controls the whole world, this empty feeling is beyond her control.
Zuko's failure with his father, his ordinariness in contrast to Azula's brilliance, ultimately saved him. Because he learned to master the one thing she couldn't, his own soul. While Azula will always be tormented by unquenchable cravings. Zuko learned that his torment came from within. He needed something that didn't exist, his father's love. He let the illusions and lies of his world turn that need into a desire to win back his father's approval, to regain "honor," to master his world again. But once he realized the true nature of his need, he realized he already had it, not from the man he called father, but from the man who loved him unconditionally, and had been trying to give him what he needed all along.
Azula, unable to look within, can never learn the true nature of her needs. Her brilliance taught her the wrong lesson, that anything in the world can be mastered. So she invested all her will in mastering everything in the world but herself. She remains a mystery to herself, unable to step outside and see who and what she really is, and really needs.
i literally never wanted this comment to end. its so beautifully written.
@@jordanriddle883 Thank you. I do tend to go on and on ad nauseam, so I appreciate your appreciation.
Jung would be proud, and so would Uncle Iroh.
@@jordanriddle883me too! I couldn’t have said it better. Love to see like-minded people. I love well-done character analyses.
“ the lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time” and than Zulu throwing it makes me laugh out loud to this day
Easily one of my favourite videos on youtube, I’m glad to see this reuploaded. Thanks for this amazing work and lets hope the copyright gods leave it alone.
I believe the reason it was taken down was because a certain group that took part in World War Two was mentioned in it.
Copyright gods are straight up evil. How could they strike this masterpiece
Eh, he just summarizes everything that happen with Zuko in the series. If you watched the show and paid attention, this video doesn't offer much
Edit: Nevermind, the Honor Supercut at the end makes this entire video gold
@@king_big_pp🤡
bruh dafaq u talkin about this is just recap. I clicked on this expecting some deep analysis on zuko's writing.
Probably one of the best character studies on the platform. Glad to see it back
That sucks the original got removed by copyright, but at least that gives me an excuse to watch this masterpiece again, especially now that it’s remastered. Hopefully this gets as much attention as it did when you first uploaded. Keep up the great work!
Did a section get removed? A section on that german police unit during the section starting at like 38:55
@@daxwolf455yeah that was Reserve Police Battalion 101 in the book Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning.
@@joshuamillerknight7530 👌
Prince Zuko is one of my favorite characters ever created, In any form of media. His story is just epic.
"The Storm" is my favorite episode in the series, for whatever reason it has stuck with me more than any other. Everyone being forced into indoor closed spaces telling stories in the dark just reminds me of the power outages my childhood home would get during thunderstorms. My family would gather around one another with some candles for warmth while my mother told me stories as I rested my head on her lap to ease my anxiety. I think "The Storm" is the reason I find so much comfort during rainstorms.
I took something different from the end of Zuko Alone and the “happy Zuko” from Bosing Se.
The former showed him not so much that he was mistaken in revealing himself, but that he didn’t realize the horrible weight that identity held. It gave him a greater sense of the possible responsibility he bares for their suffering and situation. “Happy Zuko” wasn’t really Zuko. He never goes back to that personality after he leaves it because he wasn’t HIM. He was someone else. Zuko isn’t fully good when he’s just living a normal life. He HAD to redeem the Fire Nation. He couldn’t find or feel at home in the Earth Kingdom because he didn’t belong there. His DUTY was to the Fire Nation but not in the way he thought.
Exactly, this is what I was thinking. “Happy Zuko” what he thought his uncle wanted. I got the same feeling about when he revealed himself. In the Painted Lady the town was going to turn on Katara but because of her allies she was able to have them see the truth but as the Title says Zuko is alone, no allies to help him.
top tier description
10/10 would regain my honor
I really like the detail that the fire nation has superior technology to the other nations; fire, afterall, is heavily associated with, among other things, innovation and technological progress.
Plus, it makes sense in terms of worldbuilding as well. The fire-nation lived on a volcanic archipelago that was rich with metals, and their placement in the ocean forced them to become a sea-faring nation. They were pretty much set up to learn metal-working and get a navy.
@@jimboanimations4041imperial japan esque. japan as an island nation also lacked natural resources so they were forced to i bc add neighboring nations to fuel their population boom.
The Zuko/Iroh dynamic has always been my favorite part of this TV show. Glad to see such an eloquent review on this great character!
As an abuse survivor who moved from the countryside to a city a few months back I never realized how hard Zuko in tales of Ba sing Se would hit me once I’d actually moved, it’s just… so much and done so well, I love this show
Highly underrated content creator right here. It isn’t hard to find creators that make content like this, it is hard to find the good ones.
Excellent script, combined with fitting and well edited clips of the show to match.
was sad that this video was put down or made private, super happy that I can watch it again
I’m only 17 minutes and 47 seconds into this video, and i see no reason why i shouldn’t have you in my subscriptions
This video has such passion, it’s so genuine and encapsulating. Absolutely bravo, my good sir
I find it hard to watch this video without becoming emotional, because it so wonderfully yet simply explains the character and journey of Zuko, which I personally have some similarities to. This is truly an amazing video, fueled by an amazing character. Well done :)
I'm crying. Several moments in this series had me in tears every time I rewatch, Zuko reconciling with his uncle is definitely the one that has me sobbing. It's the type of thing I wish real families could find themselves living out more often.
there will never again be a show like atla, its a time capsule of the hard work creators in the 2000's put in for the sake of making something important.
31:32 I think you misinterpreted the turtleduck scene. Zuko wasn’t cruel, he was naive. He was copying Azula to humor his mother, not understanding that his actions were bad. It was mindless violence, yes, but not cruelty. There was no malice in him, which was one of the main points of the show. Azula and Ozai were driven by selfishness and malice, desiring their actions for their own sake. Zuko only ever driven towards evil through manipulation and a sense of right that was twisted by his family and nation. Just as with the turtleducks - he was deluded into thinking that his actions were good.
simply a masterpiece... tears in my eyes everytime i rewatch the series
I have watched this video probably 15ish times it is so amazingly thought out and presented. Honestly the best character study I've ever seen.
I hope this is never taken down again but also really grateful for the reminder to watch it again. Favourite redemption arc in the history of redemption arcs. Thank you for the beautiful video
I don't even know if I'll necessarily like all of your content or anything, but I HAVE to subscribe after this masterpiece of a video essay. So many video essays on youtube these days and many are absolute trash ramblings of someone who doesn't have a clue what they're talking about, and clearly is just regurgitating the same things other video essays have said. But you captured a critical viewpoint for what makes Zuko's story one of a generation and one that illustrates how to grow up to be a good man, and a good human.
I notice that, too. This video does a better explanation of Zuko that what I’ve watched before.
This retrospective is the first time I noticed that the couple doesn't rob is the serpent's pass couple, Hope's parents
I think that scene where zuko is wearing the bandage on his eye always makes me feel bad for him. He doesn’t want to do the mission he’s been venturing on for years, he’s sadden because he knows that he’s only being shoved away from his home and his family. It’s such a subtle delivery but he’s reluctant and looks away when he says he’ll capture the avatar. You can feel the fear of a teenager being thrown into a vicious world by and even more vicious force that he’s known to be tyrannical, ill tempered and vile.
"Come on, strike me. You've never held back before." This goddamn line man, gets me every time. A man who has been constantly beaten down after getting back up, to the point where he seemingly has no choice but to blame the world. He tries and tries but fails to get what he wants every time (at least what he thinks he wants, not really what he needs). While his efforts were mostly misplaced and misdirected, there was no way for him to know at that time, and certainly not at that age. Truly heartbreaking, and masterfully done by the voice actor.
Damn you went in depth, with the psychological aspect of this show.
Your work is unparalleled, and the effort put into this essay is truly astonishing. This was always one of my favorite videos, and I'm so unbelievably happy you re-uploaded
i was gonna say. thought i already saw and LOVED this video. But in any case, it's a well done essay. so i'll like it again. Actually it's more like a freaking dissertation. But Zuko's character arc is easily one of my absolute favorites in television. (rivaled only perhaps by Spike from Buffy, because that journey is something to behold as well). Zuko's story is so moving (and as someone who comes from an abusive background, wildly relatable too). And i LOVE the way you break it down in this video
Nearly started crying when hearing that Music. There is no show more influential to my being than this. There is so much things they did right, and to think that all this happened under the premisse of being a „quirky kids show“ is nothing but crazy.
1:10:30 A turning point in my life was when I had a similar conversation with my father (for similar reasons). Because I had seen Zuko stand up for himself and redirect that attack when I was a kid, I stayed calm during that confrontation. I could focus on letting my father's nastiness pass cleanly through and out of me, which completely disarmed him
Nice to see this video remastered. My favorite of yours as it covers my favorite character in the entire series.
i enjoyed watching this so much, i started tearing up during some scenes :( when he was screaming at the sky during the storm, his father burning him, his apology to uncle iroh aaaah 😭😭😭
1:02:19 i wanna also point out that zuko's scar is not only the symbol of [his trauma which eventually leads him to end the cycle of violence], but it's also a symbol of the violence inflicted upon him for trying to do good (in that specific instance standing up for the fire nation soldiers they wanted to sacrifice). like it's the consequences of acting out against power, because they want to keep you in line.
also the whole war meeting thing brings up another thing about culture and nationalism. zuko says that those soldiers are fighting for their country (or that they love the fire nation or something) and the generals just act like they're disposable.
like, those soldiers love a nation that doesn't care at all for them, that only serves its own interests and is willing to use them as pawns to do it.
37:00 this scene still gets me, if he'd have had the wisdom of late series Zuko he might have said something like "We don't Choose our Fathers" which would have meant something totally different to him and the villagers.
I can never get enough of ATLA video essays
the moment you mentioned carl jung and shadow is when this became one of my favourite videos ever.
both shadow work and atla contributed to the biggest jump in my development, and now it all makes sense as in how connected it is.
I didn't think this was reuploaded but I'm glad this came back this has to be the best video.
Just finished watching the entire thing, and I'm so glad someone made a video on this. Zuko is by far my favorite character in all of media entertainment, and you perfectly described what makes him so special. Your insight, dialogue, editing, score, and scenes were amazingly done. Thank you for this masterpiece of a video, you don't know how long I was waiting for an in-depth analysis and appreciation video of Zuko. You earned yourself a subscribed and a well-deserved like. Thank you.
you better be proud of how this video moves me to tears on, like, 6 separate occasions. fuck i love Zuko and i love you for making this for all of us!!😭😭💖
It's not only a story but a good reminder of fighting with your own darkness that anybody can find right path no matter how hard life will be.
I saw Avatar first time in 2012 since then so many times I came back and left again
Everytime I came back for Uncle Iroh wisdom and Zuko story his redemption arc
It's amazing that a video made by a single person in RUclips is a lot better than whatever Modern Disney is showing nowadays.
I see I don't even need the dialogue to get all weepy at Iroh and Zuko's reunion. This was such an amazing show.
This is my most favorite video on youtube! I don't know how much time I have watched this video. Kinda works as a mental therapy for me. I'm very glad it's back.
I still remember that when zuko and iroh met again and iroh told him he never hated him, a 12 year old me cried for the first time in years. One of the greatest shows ever made.
What makes this series so special is that today you next to never see such good morals and values portrayed in series today. So much that is shown in media today is ill moral and deranged
Objectively incorrect and wrong
There morales aren’t as great as they Present them
God this made me so emotional by the end! I love this show and all of its characters but especially Zuko. Now I need to rewatch it again for like the 10th time.
my gOD this was so well argued. thank you for this meditation of such an amazing character journey
Superb essay - and really helped me understand why I loved Zuko's arc so much
I went looking for this a few months ago and was distraught when I couldn’t find it. Glad to see it’s back up.
At 18:12, seeing the visualization of Zuko turning his back on his nation's flag seemed to me that Zuko was just uncomfortable of laying on one position. I never did great at understanding literature and composition analysis topics, so seeing you explain Zuko's turning was more a body language thing made every scene much more detailed upon another viewing. Great analysis and great video!
This video bangs and I’m relieved to see it on the platform again
No joke this video made me watch ATLA for the first time
Hope you enjoyed it?
I'm halfway through this video and I want to rewatch the show. Haven't watched it since 2011.
Just binged The Last Airbender yet again and I wanted to go on social media and declare THE LEGEND OF KORRA IS *NOT* CANON and then I saw this video on my home page and thought this was the perfect place to write that. Thanks. :-)
lmao
I think the explanation is that it is Aaron Ehasz was Head Writer of this series, but was left out of The Legend of Korra. I have no idea who he is, but, apparently, he's the one with the talent.
@@michaelawilliams He was a writer on ATLA. But don't give him too much credit. He is a lead writer on the dragon prince, and the writing on that show is so hilariously bad, it's impressive really. Korra isn't nearly as bad as everyone seems to think it is.
@@mushymush223 Korra is fine if you don't love The Last Airbender. ;)
Perhaps it's all three that's needed to make a great story.
This was a real treat! Thank you for deepening my already endless love for this show, and the character Zuko!
Probably one of the best video essays on media on RUclips.
One of my favorite details I noticed is that in The Guru, it’s stated the Fire Chakra is located in the stomach; it deals with Willpower, and is blocked by Shame. This is why Zuko cannot generate lightning himself, his Fire Chakra is blocked because of the shame he feels.
When Iroh teaches Zuko how to redirect lightning, he tells him how important it is for the lightning to pass through his stomach-where the Fire Chakra is.
This finally leads to the showdown between Zuko and Ozai: Zuko finally casts aside the shame he felt and was defined by and stands up to his father. He redirects the lightning Ozai shoots at him-unlocking his Fire Chakra.
Of course he doesn’t master it until The Firebending Masters, where his desire to help Aang becomes the willpower to properly utilize the Chakra.
Wow. I was not prepared for how hard hitting of an analysis this was. Great job!
Brilliant character study! Zuko is my favorite ATLA character, and this video does such a good job as to underline why. (I love Iroh too, it's kind of a tie tbh)
Last airbender would have to be 1 of my fav shows to this day simply due to the originality shown throughout the story
Aang is the main character, but both he and Zuko are the protagonists. They are perfect foils and serve each other's stories amazingly. There's a reason he's a lot of people's favorite character
Ironically, in the end he did return with the Avatar, just not in the way he was expecting
Evil is simply the absence of good. It's really easy to just not do something, wander aimlessly, so it's easy to be evil. It's much more difficult to follow a certain path and follow a set of morals. But you can't reach a goal without having that goal in mind, so evil by its nature can offer no truth or solutions.
This is true wisdom
I feel like it's more than just a devil's bargain, and that makes it hit all the stronger when he realizes what it really is: the dark mirror of redemption.
In some ways, it is a kind of redemption arc. Take away the abuse at the hands of his father, the trauma inherent to his upbringing, the lack of empathy that is a cornerstone of Fire Nation society... It is a by-the-numbers redemption story. The prodigal son returns, bringing back a great prize, he gets his position back, a hero's welcome, and even gets the girl... But it's not the son who gambled and drank his fortune away returning to his father's farm, it's a cult member who had gotten out returning to their open, abusive arms; it's a former pusher-addict getting sober but relapsing and returning to his old dealer.
In wars, the heroes on one side are rarely heroic to those on the other.
Strange but honest testament to how great this show is; i have an AtLA hoodie and though cool as it is, it is single handedly my most complimented article of clothing. I wear a lot of media merch and rarely does it get complimented. However, when i wear that hoodie it's uncommon to go a day without at least a comment on it. It always makes my day to see people get genuinely excited over this hoodie lol
This is probably the best analysis video of Zuko I have ever seen. Maaaaaan, I cried. 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲
Probably my favourite video on Zuko. Would love to see a short one done just on the last Agni Kai.
Oh boy time to watch this for the 4th time :>
One of the best character arc documentaries on youtube, hands down
Kinda cringe ngl...
@@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon you're cringe
@@iamspikefire Responding like this is exactly why you're cringe...
@@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon replying to a 4 month old comment to put someone down for no reason is cringe
@@iamspikefire Then stop doing it...
Zukos story is the perfect "Lion King" story of a banished prince that learns from his banishment to come back a worthy king for his nation, people, and the world.
i find zukos story incredibly inspiring... he can grow, he can achieve agency of his own. therefore, anyone can. I can.
49:27 the craziest part of this episode is the fact that zuko gains a moral compass and that compass nearly kills him because of all his past trauma. I honestly think zuko is my favorite character in the show! His character is so well done and the voice acting is amazing! He truly is the best example of a character finding balance and closure. The final Agni Kai is a perfect example of how zuko truly has become a master in his own right. if katara wasn’t the one that had to finish the fight and chain azula to that gutter we wouldn’t have gotten to see that zuko has truly become a hero! He legit saved her life by taking the lightning strike. in the very beginning of the fight he said let me handle this she’s slipping;he had two reasons for saying that 1 the roles are reversed and she is actually having a complete psychiatric breakdown and 2 he didn’t want to actively put katara in danger by making her fight a fire bender that’s cracked out because of the comet.
You're missing a final beat to tie it all up. 9/10
This is my humble opinion: Upon reflection, Zuko is the main character. Sure you could argue Aang has a minor character arc, but that ends when he stops running away from who he is. The true & main protagonist starts Antagonist but that ends up being a red herring. This show is criminally underrated.
i believe aang ans zuko are co-protagonists and that if the title was more accurate in story context wise it would avatar the last airbender and Zuko the banished prince
Something not often mentioned about Zuko, is how, he has been the most sympathetic depiction and most relatable characters for kids who grew up in poisonous environments. Zuko has always been an extremely important character to me, because I remember being as angry and as short tempered, growing up in an abusive, toxic and poisoning home. The fact this show, unlike so many other shows, shows Zuko capable of healing, deserving of love, deserving of kindness. Is so so important. And many more shows need to take risk like this. The angry, child who is traumatized is often not a topic talked about often. They always display traumatized children as often as quiet and shy and those who hide. And rarely do they show them as angry, volatile sometimes, because that's the only way they know how to handle pain, grief, and agony. Sorry I posted on a video from 9 months ago, but.
This is so well made! I had to stop a couple times to reflect on the things you said. Your ability to not just enjoy the series, but also see clearly what every episode wants to teach the viewer, is really astounding! Never would I have thought so deeply about the series alone. So thanks for the video!!
I didn't realize the previous video was struck down by the RUclips overlords. Well, I'm glad that it's back!
This is one of the best videos I've seen in a very long time, it honestly bring tears to my eyes reflecting
on the ups and downs in Zuko's life. I feel we all have a lot to learn from everything you speak of Cardinal.
Beyond the visible trauma of his past the scar on Zukos face is a physical manifestation of the dual nature within himself 8:31
Oh good, you reuploaded this video. I thought I was insane after I tried to find this video again for months
Toph is my favorite character on the show, but, there is no denying that Zuko's history is the best one, by far.
This is what I love about this fandom massive video essays.
If i could forget the series, have someone close to me recommend it to me again, i would do it in a heartbeat.
Always will be one of my favorite characters ever, and i watched a LOT of shows, but his story is just brilliant
This is how an EARNED character redemption arc looks like, not just because the fans love some character so they pressure the writers to give them a redemption
In the end, Zuko was the brave soldier boy who came marching home.
26:24 That transition was amazing.
OK, can I just just say the intro to this was great
This video is one of the best argumentative analysis ever done. And I just want to say I am sorry it was taken down. I appreciate that you reupload such a masterpiece so that we can continue to experience the same feelings that you tried to share with this narrative work
However, in my personal opinion, and after listening the previous version at least 100 times and almost memorized all of it, i have to say that i preferred the former version.
It just sad how the world war segment is cut, that added a high weight into some of the most important points of zuko's story.
Another thing is that i feel that the former audio had more "expressed feelings", i remember that the voice that you had back then when you recorded this video was more expressive as if you have been experiencing some similar circumstances of personal growth and your tone and vocabulary fitted perfectly
Now it just feels off when you change some expressions and re narrate some sentences.
It would be awesome if you uploaded the previous version as a private video or subscribers only video.
i started this video manly just to have something on in the background at but quickly i started truly watching it wanting to know what you learnd from the story and from the characters we all love
thank you