people with bad taste are always like âyurr hurr The Beach is about zuko and mai and how theyâre a great coupleâ while intellectuals know that Actually The Beach is about mining any and all of the untapped friendship potential of this striking exchange
One of the best twist moments in Avatar is when Ty Lee suddenly and dramatically turns against Azula at the Boiling Rock. Azula was completely convinced that Ty Lee would obey her without question forever, but Azula wasnât the only one fooled. Mai is just as shocked when Ty Lee rebels as Azula is. Ty Leeâs survival instincts were so sharp that she never let anyone know what she was thinking, not Azula, not Mai, and certainly not Zuko.
Zuko really believed that Ty Lee didnât understand who he was at all. He completely bought into the act that sheâs just a puppet for Azula, who lives in her âlittle Ty Lee world where everythingâs great all the timeâ. But the thing is, Ty Lee is one of the most perceptive characters in the show, and sheâs excellent at keeping that on the down low, but she sees a lot more of Zuko than he thinks, and a lot of what she sees is very familiar to her.
Overshadowed by prodigious siblings?
Wanting to be acknowledged for the talents you have rather than the talents you donât?
Kept in line by fear?
Spending your whole life bending over backwards to fit the persona the royal family has set for you?
So yeah Zuko. She knows you.
This characterization is definitely emphasized with Ty Leeâs acrobatics, flexibility, and ability to hit pressure points. Thereâs a level of subtlety and precision that is required for such skills. She had to know her own body to be able to bend it in such ways, and she has to know other peopleâs bodies to be able to disable them.
And pretty much from the moment you meet her, itâs fairly clear that thereâs more to her than her lighthearted, bubbleheaded persona, long before she uses her battle skills. Look at what happens when Azula recruits her.Â
Azula used blatant intimidation tactics to get Ty Lee to comply, ordering the net to be set on fire and all the animals released (which, for the record, would not only have endangered Ty Lee but the circus creatures themselvesâI bet Ty Lee was attached to them, and that wouldâve been a double threat in itself). Ty Lee is visibly terrified, but instead of calling her out or letting Azula see that she was intimidated, she says this:
Instead of endangering herself by pointing out that Azula crossed a line, Ty Lee falls back on her talk of âthe universeâ and âauras,â talk that canonically gets her indulged or dismissed but never taken seriously.Â
She knows that Azulaâs dangerous. Thereâs no way she doesnât know that Azula is threatening her. But if she can keep Azula from realizing she knows that, sheâs a little safer.Â
Because sheâs one of maybe two people Azula never considered as potential enemiesâeven (especially, but thatâs another thread) Ozai is a threat in her mind, but Mai and Ty Lee are the closest thing Azula has to trusted friends, right up until their betrayal.Â
Ty Leeâs spent a lifetime cultivating a personality that not only allows her to stands out among her siblingsâit protects her from being treated as a threat. When youâre friends with Azula, that is an essential facade to maintain. and she does it consistently enough that no one ever sees through it.
All of the Fire Nation kids are so messed up. Zukoâs just the one who gets in the most trouble, because heâs the only one who doesnât have a mask.
Amazing discussion and thereâs one more thing to add to it, specifically in the context of the episode with The Beach.
Azula gets jealous of the male attention that Ty Lee is getting. Itâs not the same as being a threat, but it does put Ty Lee in a dangerous position because she has something Azula wants. It doesnât take much for Azula to turn dangerous and threatening when thereâs something she wants and perceives an obstacle in the way, and Ty Lee knows this. And with just a few words, a compliment to Azula, she sets her at ease and makes herself seem vapid (âjust laugh at whatever they say even if itâs not funnyâ) while giving advice. Which means Azula can take or leave her advice but wonât perceive Ty Lee as a real threat to the attention she craves because Ty Lee is getting attention for âbeing vapidâ and not because sheâs naturally beautiful and charming.
Its a simple, efficient, and incredible manipulation of a very dangerous and volatile person. Again the agility and flexibility, and no wonder Azula didnât see her betrayal coming. Every time Ty Lee has entered even the possibility of being a threat to Azula in any realm, sheâs immediately flipped the situation to put Azula seemingly back in control and put herself back into a nonthreatening role. Right up until her betrayal.
I love all of this but âZukoâs just the one who gets in the most trouble, because heâs the only one who doesnât have a maskâ got me
