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timepiececlockDamn near essay-length. I apologize. It's just that this episode gave us a large amount of information and I wanted to comment on all the major stuff.
First comment: Love the hair. Since you started growing it I've been wanting it to get to this length. Now stop, right there. Any more and you'll be shaggy. But that there is perfect. It's so much hotter than the pony tail. So much.
Okay, let's take this in parts. To start, the flashbacks. I'm guessing... 9 years old? I'd say he looked about 9.
Azula was apparently an evil lying animal-torturing bitch since childhood. No surprise there. And it looks like Zuko was suffering middle child syndrome: looking up to his older cousin and being tortured by his younger sister. Also, a mama's boy. But we'll get to that later.
Zuko's kid voice was good. And that thing with the turtleducks? I know that feeling. You try to do something daring that someone else did because that someone else impresses people... and the person who you show it to is the exact WRONG person to show. Then you feel even stupider. This is why trying to be other people is a bad idea. Also the point of the episode, methinks.
I love the repetition of Azula always lies. If only he'd remembered that in the season premier. ...Azula's story that Ozai was going to kill Zuko to please their grandfather? Oh my GOD, that child is a vicious monster. She's the Peter to Zuko's Ender. And it's so incredibly heartbreaking that Zuko actually had to reassure himself that it wasn't true. The fact that he'd even consider it a possibility in his heart says worlds about his relationship with his father and his view of himself in their family dynamic.
I'm really, really pleased we got the names of most of the Fire Nation royals. No more bad fanfic names! Also, whoa to Iroh. The fanon theory that his son died at Ba Xing Xe was correct, it seems. I just want to hug him. Also, it adds new perspective to his heartfelt speech in the finale last season: his wounds from losing his son are pretty fresh. Probably only 8 years. Only 5 years by the time he went to sea with Zuko.
Okay, now onto the parents. First, Zuko's mom. Ursa? I think that was it. Anyway, I'm bummed that my theory of his mom being the source of the royal bloodline didn't pan out, but on the bright side my theory that Sozen was Zuko's great-grandfather, not his grandfather. Yay for estimation skills! Anyway. His mom is obviously a cool person, and thus probably didn't marry Ozai out of love. She's also a typical perfect-tv-mom, but that's forgiveable considering that these memories are probably tainted with Zuko's idealized view of her. Besides, she's not totally perfect if she ran away and abandonned her kids.
Speaking of which: OMG! She's alive somewhere, I bet. And obviously whatever went down in that day or two between Azulon punishing Ozai (who's face we still haven't seen...wanna bet he's got a scar too?) and Azulon's death and her disappearence... obviously she did something or had a hand in something. I don't think she helped murder Azulon (Was he murdered? We will never know), judging by the way she didn't seem happy with the prospect of Ozai on the throne. But I'm not sure she ran away simply because she despised the idea of him ruling, either. There had to be more to it than that, we just don't know what yet. Whatever it was, she (wrongfully) assumed her children would be safest with Ozai. Or maybe she thought that if she took them Ozai would hunt them down? It doesn't seem like he was concerned with her leaving (we'd have gotten dialogue about it, if he was), but he'd be pissed if she took his heirs. It's an interesting new plot thread that's been created, one that probably won't be answered until book 3, which is, I bet, when she'll appear next.
Speaking of mothers, I liked the way the Earth Kingdom woman jumped in front of her son. It was a blatant parallel to Zuko's own mother, and Zuko saw and respected her reaction.
Alright, now on to Ozai! Wowsers. I was so, *so* jazzed when it was revealed that Ozai had only been in power for a few years. I don't know why I get a kick out of it, but I do. I think because it takes away from the idea of either Zuko or Azula as being born the crown prince (a very fairy tale way of looking at it), and makes it a little more like a realistic situation: kings can be old and sometimes princes are well into adulthood with kids of their own before they take power. Succession is complicated and can be bloody.
Anyway, I'm convinced the reason we never saw Ozai's face is that Azulon burned him. And actually, this episode really wonderfully illuminates why Zuko was burned in the first place: Ozai wanted Zuko out of the line of succession, probably for a long time now, and he took a small offense as an opportunity to ensure that Zula could take power without a fight. Of course, he could always designate her heir, but then if he died Zuko could still fight for the throne as eldest. With Zuko exiled, Azula's path to power was clear and unarguable in the eyes of the law. This is a theory most of us had already (since Zuko's offense always seemed way, way to small to be the sole reason for such a harsh punishment), but with what we saw of Ozai's political maneuvering here, I think it's implied canon. If Ozai messed with the line of succession for himself there's no reason to think he wouldn't do it for his favored child. What a snake. Also, with Iroh's son dead, Ozai didn't need to rely on having two heirs as statement of his legitimacy anymore. Zuko, being less bloodthirsty and less driven (and dangerously loyal to his mother over his father?), was expendable.
I remember why I liked the idea of Ozai having ruled for less than 10 years: it means he's not the only Fire Lord the current Fire Nation subjects (and the aristocracy) have known. After 10 years his hold is pretty secure, but it's not as secure as if he'd been ruling for 30 years. Just...food for thought.
Okay, enough B plot flashback talk.
Now for the A plotline: Zuko and the kid. Zuko and the town. Zuko and (woe!) the death of the Blue Spirit. This is going to be a bit backward, since my strongest impressions were of the end of the episode.
I'm really, really pleased with Zuko's behavior at the end. I love that he's stopped moping about. I love that he's been saddled with some kind of new determination: he may be exiled, but he is still a prince, and he needs to behave like one. Something he hasn't been doing for three long years, I think. He can be kicked out of his home, he can cut his hair, he can run to the four corners of the earth: but he will never stop being the prince of the Fire Nation. For whatever reason, seeing the bullies of the Earth Kingdom town added the final balance to his worldview: yes, the Fire Nation's campaign is bad. He had to learn that lesson. But he also had to learn that his people aren't the only monsters, and that the world is a grey, grey place. War destroys families whether the battlefront is at your doorstep or far away.
I think that, as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hecatehatesthat pointed out in my other post, "This episode we've actually seen him decide he's going to claim his throne whether Daddy likes it or not, which puts him in a very different position from last season's plan to get back in papa's good graces. That way he might try to change things from within the system, but it would be slow -- now he's set up to change the system."
This episode was about Zuko reaffirming his identity and his purpose. That's what he broke away from Iroh to do, and he has. I'm glad, too-- Zuko's a driven, dynamic character and all this moping about is no fun. I'm eager to see him acting with a purpose again. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that there will be no more Blue Spirit adventuring. I think this episode showed that he's not going to play a role anymore. The Blue Spirit Zuko is a lot of things The Prince Zuko doesn't want to be (homeless, honorless, traitorous), and if he's going to be the prince again he can't keep being the bandit.hecatehatesthat: "Everything Zuko does now he does as Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne." Exactly.
Irony there is that--good intentions or not--aggressively going after the throne at the expense of the current ruler is practically a family tradition. Aaaahhh Zuko Zuko Zuko. He's finally starting to get it. He's finally in the club. And it only took having his face melted, being abandonned by his parents, and having his life ruined to get to be a true "member of the family." Of course, the only people who would appreciate his new ambition are the people he's going to be overthrowing.
I loved the mini-lesson for the kid, and this screencap. It's symbolic of several things:
-his face (scarred vs. unscarred)
-his identity (prince vs. not a prince)
-his loyalty (family vs. the world)
-past vs. present
-Zuko as a weapon, now reforged as a single whole
That scene really telegraphed the theme for the entire episode. Just as the two blades unite to form a single weapon, Zuko has to come to grips with who he intends to be. He needs to stop thinking of himself as two people (the prince of the past and the failure outcast) and realize that he can never really change who he is. The scarred outcast is now an equal part of him, as much as the prince is. Took the kid three frickin' years to figure it out...but no one's accused Zuko of being a fast learner.
I also think the implication is clear that he had a similar relationship with his cousin when he was a boy; obviously Iroh's family was everything Zuko's own wasn't.
The fight scene was pretty cool. I loved the flaming swords. All the cool of firebending and swordfighting combined! I also love that Zuko's always liked knives and swordfighting--and that he's better at *something* than his sister, even if it's not the thing that matters to their father.
I enjoyed the fact that we got a whole episode of Zuko not just for the yummy amounts of background information, but for the extended amount of scenes where we get a taste of his personality now, and how much he's changed since season 1. In season 1 he seemed to yoyo between the calm, calculating, efficient warrior and the temperamental child. It seems now that most of the child has been blown, beaten, or starved out of him, while the calm and calculating warrior remains. We haven't seen Zuko lose control of his temper since his argument with Iroh in episode 2x1. He's growing up, our boy! He's finally starting to turn into the kind of guy I'd want to be Fire Lord, because honestly season 1 Zuko would've been a terrible Fire Lord. Season 2 Zuko's starting to accept his limits and in doing so is rediscovering his strengths. He's finally seeing the world for what it is instead of just trampling over it. (I loved his speech analyzing the behavior of the bullying soldiers: so precise, and rather eloquent too.)
Now that he will no longer be hiding, he's going to have to endure a lot more boos and rocks from Fire Nation citizens before people begin to accept that he's not his father. Most people, even people he helps, will not trust or thank him knowing who he is. But he's finally strong enough to swallow that pill and keep pushing forward.
Last thought: I'm kind of internally squeeing over the fact that with each new episode my fanfic idea of Zuko's personality appears closer and closer to canon. I love when your feel for a character is reaffirmed in canon. It's validating, ya know?
EDIT: I have a new batch of things to add to the list of "Dark Stuff I Never Thought I'd See Discussed On A Nickelodeon Show". Previous list included things like genocide and violent child abuse. Now we can add...
patricide (murdering your parent)
filicide (murdering your child)
regicide(murdering your monarch)
possibly spousal murder (depending on if his mom's alive)
animal torture
a young child portrayed as irredeemably evil
domestic abuse (if Azulon burned Ozai's face)
cutthroat political maneuvering
a portrayal of an extremely dysfunctional and violent family
First comment: Love the hair. Since you started growing it I've been wanting it to get to this length. Now stop, right there. Any more and you'll be shaggy. But that there is perfect. It's so much hotter than the pony tail. So much.
Okay, let's take this in parts. To start, the flashbacks. I'm guessing... 9 years old? I'd say he looked about 9.
Azula was apparently an evil lying animal-torturing bitch since childhood. No surprise there. And it looks like Zuko was suffering middle child syndrome: looking up to his older cousin and being tortured by his younger sister. Also, a mama's boy. But we'll get to that later.
Zuko's kid voice was good. And that thing with the turtleducks? I know that feeling. You try to do something daring that someone else did because that someone else impresses people... and the person who you show it to is the exact WRONG person to show. Then you feel even stupider. This is why trying to be other people is a bad idea. Also the point of the episode, methinks.
I love the repetition of Azula always lies. If only he'd remembered that in the season premier. ...Azula's story that Ozai was going to kill Zuko to please their grandfather? Oh my GOD, that child is a vicious monster. She's the Peter to Zuko's Ender. And it's so incredibly heartbreaking that Zuko actually had to reassure himself that it wasn't true. The fact that he'd even consider it a possibility in his heart says worlds about his relationship with his father and his view of himself in their family dynamic.
I'm really, really pleased we got the names of most of the Fire Nation royals. No more bad fanfic names! Also, whoa to Iroh. The fanon theory that his son died at Ba Xing Xe was correct, it seems. I just want to hug him. Also, it adds new perspective to his heartfelt speech in the finale last season: his wounds from losing his son are pretty fresh. Probably only 8 years. Only 5 years by the time he went to sea with Zuko.
Okay, now onto the parents. First, Zuko's mom. Ursa? I think that was it. Anyway, I'm bummed that my theory of his mom being the source of the royal bloodline didn't pan out, but on the bright side my theory that Sozen was Zuko's great-grandfather, not his grandfather. Yay for estimation skills! Anyway. His mom is obviously a cool person, and thus probably didn't marry Ozai out of love. She's also a typical perfect-tv-mom, but that's forgiveable considering that these memories are probably tainted with Zuko's idealized view of her. Besides, she's not totally perfect if she ran away and abandonned her kids.
Speaking of which: OMG! She's alive somewhere, I bet. And obviously whatever went down in that day or two between Azulon punishing Ozai (who's face we still haven't seen...wanna bet he's got a scar too?) and Azulon's death and her disappearence... obviously she did something or had a hand in something. I don't think she helped murder Azulon (Was he murdered? We will never know), judging by the way she didn't seem happy with the prospect of Ozai on the throne. But I'm not sure she ran away simply because she despised the idea of him ruling, either. There had to be more to it than that, we just don't know what yet. Whatever it was, she (wrongfully) assumed her children would be safest with Ozai. Or maybe she thought that if she took them Ozai would hunt them down? It doesn't seem like he was concerned with her leaving (we'd have gotten dialogue about it, if he was), but he'd be pissed if she took his heirs. It's an interesting new plot thread that's been created, one that probably won't be answered until book 3, which is, I bet, when she'll appear next.
Speaking of mothers, I liked the way the Earth Kingdom woman jumped in front of her son. It was a blatant parallel to Zuko's own mother, and Zuko saw and respected her reaction.
Alright, now on to Ozai! Wowsers. I was so, *so* jazzed when it was revealed that Ozai had only been in power for a few years. I don't know why I get a kick out of it, but I do. I think because it takes away from the idea of either Zuko or Azula as being born the crown prince (a very fairy tale way of looking at it), and makes it a little more like a realistic situation: kings can be old and sometimes princes are well into adulthood with kids of their own before they take power. Succession is complicated and can be bloody.
Anyway, I'm convinced the reason we never saw Ozai's face is that Azulon burned him. And actually, this episode really wonderfully illuminates why Zuko was burned in the first place: Ozai wanted Zuko out of the line of succession, probably for a long time now, and he took a small offense as an opportunity to ensure that Zula could take power without a fight. Of course, he could always designate her heir, but then if he died Zuko could still fight for the throne as eldest. With Zuko exiled, Azula's path to power was clear and unarguable in the eyes of the law. This is a theory most of us had already (since Zuko's offense always seemed way, way to small to be the sole reason for such a harsh punishment), but with what we saw of Ozai's political maneuvering here, I think it's implied canon. If Ozai messed with the line of succession for himself there's no reason to think he wouldn't do it for his favored child. What a snake. Also, with Iroh's son dead, Ozai didn't need to rely on having two heirs as statement of his legitimacy anymore. Zuko, being less bloodthirsty and less driven (and dangerously loyal to his mother over his father?), was expendable.
I remember why I liked the idea of Ozai having ruled for less than 10 years: it means he's not the only Fire Lord the current Fire Nation subjects (and the aristocracy) have known. After 10 years his hold is pretty secure, but it's not as secure as if he'd been ruling for 30 years. Just...food for thought.
Okay, enough B plot flashback talk.
Now for the A plotline: Zuko and the kid. Zuko and the town. Zuko and (woe!) the death of the Blue Spirit. This is going to be a bit backward, since my strongest impressions were of the end of the episode.
I'm really, really pleased with Zuko's behavior at the end. I love that he's stopped moping about. I love that he's been saddled with some kind of new determination: he may be exiled, but he is still a prince, and he needs to behave like one. Something he hasn't been doing for three long years, I think. He can be kicked out of his home, he can cut his hair, he can run to the four corners of the earth: but he will never stop being the prince of the Fire Nation. For whatever reason, seeing the bullies of the Earth Kingdom town added the final balance to his worldview: yes, the Fire Nation's campaign is bad. He had to learn that lesson. But he also had to learn that his people aren't the only monsters, and that the world is a grey, grey place. War destroys families whether the battlefront is at your doorstep or far away.
I think that, as
hecatehatesthat pointed out in my other post, "This episode we've actually seen him decide he's going to claim his throne whether Daddy likes it or not, which puts him in a very different position from last season's plan to get back in papa's good graces. That way he might try to change things from within the system, but it would be slow -- now he's set up to change the system."This episode was about Zuko reaffirming his identity and his purpose. That's what he broke away from Iroh to do, and he has. I'm glad, too-- Zuko's a driven, dynamic character and all this moping about is no fun. I'm eager to see him acting with a purpose again. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that there will be no more Blue Spirit adventuring. I think this episode showed that he's not going to play a role anymore. The Blue Spirit Zuko is a lot of things The Prince Zuko doesn't want to be (homeless, honorless, traitorous), and if he's going to be the prince again he can't keep being the bandit.
hecatehatesthat: "Everything Zuko does now he does as Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne." Exactly.Irony there is that--good intentions or not--aggressively going after the throne at the expense of the current ruler is practically a family tradition. Aaaahhh Zuko Zuko Zuko. He's finally starting to get it. He's finally in the club. And it only took having his face melted, being abandonned by his parents, and having his life ruined to get to be a true "member of the family." Of course, the only people who would appreciate his new ambition are the people he's going to be overthrowing.
I loved the mini-lesson for the kid, and this screencap. It's symbolic of several things:
-his face (scarred vs. unscarred)
-his identity (prince vs. not a prince)
-his loyalty (family vs. the world)
-past vs. present
-Zuko as a weapon, now reforged as a single whole
That scene really telegraphed the theme for the entire episode. Just as the two blades unite to form a single weapon, Zuko has to come to grips with who he intends to be. He needs to stop thinking of himself as two people (the prince of the past and the failure outcast) and realize that he can never really change who he is. The scarred outcast is now an equal part of him, as much as the prince is. Took the kid three frickin' years to figure it out...but no one's accused Zuko of being a fast learner.
I also think the implication is clear that he had a similar relationship with his cousin when he was a boy; obviously Iroh's family was everything Zuko's own wasn't.
The fight scene was pretty cool. I loved the flaming swords. All the cool of firebending and swordfighting combined! I also love that Zuko's always liked knives and swordfighting--and that he's better at *something* than his sister, even if it's not the thing that matters to their father.
I enjoyed the fact that we got a whole episode of Zuko not just for the yummy amounts of background information, but for the extended amount of scenes where we get a taste of his personality now, and how much he's changed since season 1. In season 1 he seemed to yoyo between the calm, calculating, efficient warrior and the temperamental child. It seems now that most of the child has been blown, beaten, or starved out of him, while the calm and calculating warrior remains. We haven't seen Zuko lose control of his temper since his argument with Iroh in episode 2x1. He's growing up, our boy! He's finally starting to turn into the kind of guy I'd want to be Fire Lord, because honestly season 1 Zuko would've been a terrible Fire Lord. Season 2 Zuko's starting to accept his limits and in doing so is rediscovering his strengths. He's finally seeing the world for what it is instead of just trampling over it. (I loved his speech analyzing the behavior of the bullying soldiers: so precise, and rather eloquent too.)
Now that he will no longer be hiding, he's going to have to endure a lot more boos and rocks from Fire Nation citizens before people begin to accept that he's not his father. Most people, even people he helps, will not trust or thank him knowing who he is. But he's finally strong enough to swallow that pill and keep pushing forward.
Last thought: I'm kind of internally squeeing over the fact that with each new episode my fanfic idea of Zuko's personality appears closer and closer to canon. I love when your feel for a character is reaffirmed in canon. It's validating, ya know?
EDIT: I have a new batch of things to add to the list of "Dark Stuff I Never Thought I'd See Discussed On A Nickelodeon Show". Previous list included things like genocide and violent child abuse. Now we can add...
patricide (murdering your parent)
filicide (murdering your child)
regicide(murdering your monarch)
possibly spousal murder (depending on if his mom's alive)
animal torture
a young child portrayed as irredeemably evil
domestic abuse (if Azulon burned Ozai's face)
cutthroat political maneuvering
a portrayal of an extremely dysfunctional and violent family
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 06:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 07:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 11:30 am (UTC)And yeah, politics and war (real war, war where both sides suck and people do horrible things) - pretty heavy things for a kid's show, especially with the way they dumb them down nowadays. Especially when the earthbenders wanted to put the kid in the army as well.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 07:49 pm (UTC)Every time the war topic comes up and stuff like this is mentioned, a part of my brain boggles and is like "Did I just hear that?"
And then I want to give the writers a hug or something for daring to treat war like a real subject that kids can understand. Seriously, if I ever go to a convention and see an Avatar booth, I'm so going to say "You guys rock like whao."
no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 07:20 am (UTC)I really hope I get the meet the writers some day - it would take a lot of guts to treat war seriously nowadays, especially in America. BUt I'm hoping this also marks something of a turning point for all programs - just because the show's silly, doesn't mean it can't also be serious!
But then the Fire Nation tends to encourage more serious themes, those crazy bastards.