POST #8: COLLABORATION POST #2Â
Collab with @thecartooncorner
Hey guys so this week we’ll be discussing one of my favorite animated series of all time Avatar the Last Airbender. My collaborator also made a post reviewing the show so make sure you go check that out.Â
This was one of the very first shows I would say I was really obsessed with growing up and watching it as a child was a completely different experience to watching it now as a young adult. As a child I liked the cool storyline, action and whimsy now what I really appreciate the most is the awesome world building, difficult themes it dealt with and the development of the main characters throughout the series. In this post we’ll be mainly discussing he development of two of the main characters as they matured throughout the series. Honestly if you want to know the main premise of the series, I'd just tell you to just watch the iconic intro on YouTube or head over to my collaborators page, so I'm just gonna skip that.
Ask any ATLA fan they would definitely say Zuko went through the most development and had one of the best redemption arcs of all time. At the beginning of the series, the exiled Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, is on a journey with his Uncle Iroh to find the Avatar in order to regain his honor and return home. Zuko’s character is deeply complex, he was a hurt, angry, hot-headed and bitter teenager, but this changed slowly throughout the series. He begins to have an internal struggle between what he’s been taught and the good and bad within himself. He struggles for a long time, thinking that regaining his honor is the only way he’ll be loved again from his Father. Sadly, he makes many mistakes and went to extreme lengths, even turning against his uncle and helping his sister to capture the Avatar in the episode Crossroads of Destiny. Â
Thankfully, he reaches a breaking point when his imprisoned Uncle shuns him and finally realizes that he has made the wrong choice and he has actually lost both his honor and the love of those he loves. Eventually he decides to join Aang’s team to help him defeat his father and restore balance. His journey did not happen without great pain but from this pain he regains his compassion, humility and patience and discovers his true purpose. He matures and overcomes all of the toxicity of the imperialist Fire Nation, his family, and even himself, to end the Hundred Year War, take his place as Fire Lord, and become one of Avatar Aang's closest friends.Â
In the beginning, Aang especially indulged in naive fun whenever he could and chose to blindly ignore his responsibilities and the reality of the world. He first fully began to feel the gravity of the situation when he discovered that his entire nation had been wiped out by the Fire Nation. It sent him into an extreme emotional state and this is where he finally accepted that he is the Avatar and had to put his desires aside and assume his Avatar responsibility. Â
Another pivotal moment is when his sky bison Appa Is kidnapped it took a great toll on him emotionally. Aang is forced to grow up shedding some of his childish behaviors through his encounters from both friends and enemies. He learns to face his fears, the pitfalls of jealously, how to forgive and to stay true to his core beliefs but also adapt for the greater good. At the end of the series Aang has grown from the naĂŻve carefree child to a mature young hero his Avatar duties seriously without losing who he is or sacrificing what he wants and desires.Â
In conclusion Growing up is all about change. Â Much like real life the things we go through in life and the people around us can cause us to change and grow up. In this series Avatar Aang although he still remained the playful and carefree learnt many lessons from many of the people he would have encountered and even his past lives that would have added to his growth as an individual. Once accepting his responsibilities as Avatar, we got to see more serious and mature sides of him as he dealt with a lot of hardship. Zuko on the other hand was completely different by the end of the series. The once hot-headed and intense Prince gained a sense of identity and humility after being lost and struggling for so long. This was greatly influenced by his Uncle Iroh who guided him and gave him the love he so needed.
At the end the two showed the great maturity by accepting each other's friendship after being enemies for so long and eventually bringing in an era of Peace together. Honestly just writing doesn't do justice to all the great storylines and themes in this series, so I really encourage you to go check it out and experience it yourself. I'm sure you’ll come out of it a little changed too.Â













