ATLA - 306 - The Avatar and the Fire Lord
Oct. 25th, 2007 11:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
retro_eidasAang is Zuko's reincarnated great-grandfather (on his mother's side). That. is. a. trip. However, as my brains are usually full of squishy, tl;dr meta thoughts... what's the implications of that with Zuko hunting Aang all first season? Symbolic of him hunting the part of himself he lost when he lost his mother (and became almost entirely beholden/broken to his father's will)? That part (the balance) his family has been missing since Sozin betrayed his old friend Roku and left him to die.
I'd also bet anything Zuko's dream back in "The Earth King" of seeing himself with Aang's bald head ties into this as well. The Avatar is quite literally part of him. When Zuko's metamorphosis is finally complete, it will be the Avatar staring back at him in the mirror. Not literally obviously, but the part of himself that's his mother, the part of himself that's Avatar Roku who is also Aang. Someone enlightened, that finally understands the real purpose of the Avatar, something his great-grandfather or any Fire Lord since has not, and willing to help realize that ideal and bring balance back to the world. Which was... kind of how I always interpreted that part of his dreams anyway, but drummed in all the harder with Roku (thus Aang) turning out to be his great-grandfather. Also reflecting what Aang says at the end of the episode about giving everyone a chance, including the oppressors.
However, what's a bit messed up about this is that I don't necessarily think the idea of the nations mixing is wrong, but the way Sozin planned and went about it (Fire Nation "Empire") was. I think of Mexico right away, but it's just about any modern world, isn't it? The Romans, Turks, Babylonians... Muslims, Christians... conquering and permanently changing the face of the world as they went along. A New World forged by conquest and subjugation of the native populace, but a new world nonetheless and it's here now. This has been the status quo since Sozin's betrayal a 100 years ago. Is Aang going to force all these Fire Nation citizens out of the Earth Kingdom and back to the motherland? Some of which probably never even set foot on the FN isles in their lives? I doubt it very much. I think this is partly why Zuko sees himself as a hybridized (and scarless) version of himself and the Avatar in his dream. This isn't just the fate of the future Fire Lord (although as a leader, it's got to reflect most strongly in him)... but every citizen of this world. The whole world has to adopt a mentality of being like the Avatar and "separation is just an illusion" (as Guru Pathik said)... or they're not going to survive in this world. You either adapt and change or you get left behind.... and you notice, one of rigid Azula's chief weaknesses is her inability to adapt.
The world that the previous Avatars tried to maintain no longer exists and the separation once maintained by them was blown to hell by Sozin's conquest... and Aang has to deal with this New World, but I think he's just the person who can. Aang who had friends with all the other nations a 100 years ago and still sees things in a simple, innocent way - through a child's eyes - and still has the capacity to adapt/change an adult (or the other fully-realized Avatars) probably wouldn't have. A child who hasn't grown to see the reality of how things are or maintaining/enforcing some old status quo. Aang will make an all new status quo fitting this all new world.
And I do love the Aang/Zuko eps lots and lots. I don't do untoward pr0nish slashy things with them, but their potential friendship? It's going to be EPIC folks.
I'd also bet anything Zuko's dream back in "The Earth King" of seeing himself with Aang's bald head ties into this as well. The Avatar is quite literally part of him. When Zuko's metamorphosis is finally complete, it will be the Avatar staring back at him in the mirror. Not literally obviously, but the part of himself that's his mother, the part of himself that's Avatar Roku who is also Aang. Someone enlightened, that finally understands the real purpose of the Avatar, something his great-grandfather or any Fire Lord since has not, and willing to help realize that ideal and bring balance back to the world. Which was... kind of how I always interpreted that part of his dreams anyway, but drummed in all the harder with Roku (thus Aang) turning out to be his great-grandfather. Also reflecting what Aang says at the end of the episode about giving everyone a chance, including the oppressors.
However, what's a bit messed up about this is that I don't necessarily think the idea of the nations mixing is wrong, but the way Sozin planned and went about it (Fire Nation "Empire") was. I think of Mexico right away, but it's just about any modern world, isn't it? The Romans, Turks, Babylonians... Muslims, Christians... conquering and permanently changing the face of the world as they went along. A New World forged by conquest and subjugation of the native populace, but a new world nonetheless and it's here now. This has been the status quo since Sozin's betrayal a 100 years ago. Is Aang going to force all these Fire Nation citizens out of the Earth Kingdom and back to the motherland? Some of which probably never even set foot on the FN isles in their lives? I doubt it very much. I think this is partly why Zuko sees himself as a hybridized (and scarless) version of himself and the Avatar in his dream. This isn't just the fate of the future Fire Lord (although as a leader, it's got to reflect most strongly in him)... but every citizen of this world. The whole world has to adopt a mentality of being like the Avatar and "separation is just an illusion" (as Guru Pathik said)... or they're not going to survive in this world. You either adapt and change or you get left behind.... and you notice, one of rigid Azula's chief weaknesses is her inability to adapt.
The world that the previous Avatars tried to maintain no longer exists and the separation once maintained by them was blown to hell by Sozin's conquest... and Aang has to deal with this New World, but I think he's just the person who can. Aang who had friends with all the other nations a 100 years ago and still sees things in a simple, innocent way - through a child's eyes - and still has the capacity to adapt/change an adult (or the other fully-realized Avatars) probably wouldn't have. A child who hasn't grown to see the reality of how things are or maintaining/enforcing some old status quo. Aang will make an all new status quo fitting this all new world.
And I do love the Aang/Zuko eps lots and lots. I don't do untoward pr0nish slashy things with them, but their potential friendship? It's going to be EPIC folks.
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Date: 2007-10-28 01:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-02 03:44 am (UTC)