The fact that there are still ppl in the year 2025 that are on the "Aang shoulda killed Ozai/Aang was selfish to not kill Ozai" is genuinely insane to me.
First off, we are ignoring the fact that Aang did resolve to kill Ozai when given no other option, after consulting with the other Avatars.
Yangchen: Many great and wise Air Nomads have detached themselves and achieved spiritual enlightenment, but the Avatar can never do it. Because your sole duty is to the world. Here is my wisdom for you: Selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs, and do whatever it takes to protect the world.
[Yangchen's spirit vanishes.]
Aang: [Sorrowfully.] I guess I don't have a choice, Momo. have to kill the Fire Lord.
We're also ignoring the very obviously shown themes of mercy requiring strength and restraint throughout the show, not just with Aang, but with characters like Zuko and Katara. And despite that, mercy is constantly talked down upon and viciously mocked by representants of the Fire Nation.
Because the Fire Nation spits upon mercy, it's whole imperialist system is built around the disregard of the value of human life. Nations and cultures are to br squashed if they pose a threat, captured enemies are to be used for labour and even forced to fight their own people, the Fire Nation's own soldiers are to be sacrificed if it is convenient.
The Air Nomads' philosphies of valuing life under any circumstances is set as a stark difference to this mentality. It's a mostly unconditional value of human life, set up against the highly conditional values assigned to humans in the Fire Nation. And this is a philosophy that Aang grew up with, and more importantly, one of the only things he has left from his people who were genocided.
[Maybe we should bring back taring and feathering people some of y'all need to be publicly shamed. Is this Fire Lord Ozai's alt account???]
I think many people still fail to grasp the intersection between Aang the Avatar and Aang the Last Airbender. Yes, there have been previous Air Nomad Avatars, but Aang, at the point of 100 AG is the only Air Nomad. And yes, his hesitation around killing Ozai does directly tie back to his upbringing by the monks.
Aang: This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like.
Sokka: Sure you can. You're the Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the universe will forgive you.
Aang: This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understand the position I'm in.
And he is right. For all the support and empathy the Gaang can provide him, they cannot help him carry the legacy of the Air Nomads. Aang is the only member of them who still lives. And their legacy lives in him, only him. If he breaks his vow of non killing, that is not only a personal moral loss, but a moral loss of his entire people. It's agreeing with the idea that the Air Nomads and their traditions being wrong and weak, and in order to survive and "do the right thing" Aang must abandon their traditions. Which would've been rough in a world where the Air Nomads still exist, but in the world Aang exists in, it is essentially agreeing that the Air Nomads and their values have no place in the world.
Ozai: You're weak, just like the rest of your people! They did not deserve to exist in this world ... in my world! Prepare to join them. Prepare to die!
Let's remember this comes soon after Ozai could've been killed by Aang, but was spared.
Calling Aang "weak, like the rest of his people" and undeserving of life is not just an idle taunt, it's Ozai placing a fire national imperialism flavoured moral judgement upon the Air Nomads. In 'his world' mercy is a flaw, and since human life is conditional, the 'flawed', merciful Air Nomads don't deserve to live, their ideals and beliefs don't deserve to live.
The moment Ozai says this during the final battle, Aang killing him would be agreeing with him, proving him right. It's agreeing that human life is conditional, that his people did not make the cut. That they somehow brought their destruction upon themselves, by being weak, by being wrong. Aang's battle against Ozai is as ideological as it is physical, and I find it strange that so few people acknowledge that.
I don't even think it's fair to say that atla presents another toothless "killing bad" message, which is so common in many kid's media. Like yeah, it does tell tou that killing is bad, but it certainly isn't toothless. Multiple characters, characters we are meant to like and trust are not against killing and see it as the practical option. All the past Avatars we see, characters that are meant to bestow ancient wisdom upon Aang are like "yeah you should kill that guy"! Aang himself struggles with killing, and so does Katara, but they are shown to be the most empathetic and compassionate characters of the show, is that shocking to us?
Atla asks the questions, especially in "the Southern Raiders" and the "Sozin's Comet" episodes, of whether our characters are willing to bear the weight of snuffing out a person's life, and urges us to not do violent things when going through anger and pain.
This one isn't really fully on topic but I needed to put it on the wall of shame because what the hell kids.
