I’ve talked about this before, but I need to emphasize that Zuko working in the tea shop is a huge part of his arc and development. It wasn’t just something that lasted only a few episodes that he hated and then moved on from, it’s something that is threaded throughout his arc and into the finale.
Of course he’s not happy for a large part of the time he’s working there in book two. He’s a traumatized teenager who is desperately trying to achieve the approval of his father so that he can go back to the home he was banished from. Iroh tries to make the best of things in part because Iroh genuinely enjoys it and making the best of a bad situation is just who he is, but he also wants Zuko to be happy and wants to make the best life for his nephew that he can, and he knows that Zuko needs positivity and security in his life, as well as tries to nurture in Zuko an appreciation for the small things in life and an attitude of service. It is hardly surprising that Zuko is resistant to this, though.
Zuko complains even more when he and Iroh are presented with new opportunities, because he doesn’t want to accept the possibility of growth in this new life.
Iroh: Did you hear, nephew? This man wants to give us our own tea shop in the Upper Ring of the city!
Quon: That’s right, young man, your life is about to change for the better!
Zuko: [Sarcastically.] I’ll try to contain my joy. [Walks outside, slams door shut.]
Zuko spends seven episodes working in the tea shop in a twenty episode season. It runs through his entire Ba Sing Se arc. He grumbles, groans, and complains through most of it.
Iroh: So, I was thinking about names for my new tea shop. How about the Jasmine Dragon? It’s dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it.
Zuko: [Shows Iroh the flyer.] The Avatar is here in Ba Sing Se and he’s lost his bison.
Iroh: [Grabs the flyer.] We have a chance for a new life here. [Cut to Zuko looking out a window.] If you start stirring up trouble, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us.
Zuko: [Turns to Iroh.] Good things that are happening for you! Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?
Iroh: There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I suggest you think about what it is that you want from your life and why.
Iroh: What that means is up to you.
Zuko’s time in the tea shop is part of his arc of discovering that he can choose his own destiny, and although he didn’t choose to live as a refugee, he can choose what he makes of it, which is what Iroh is trying to teach him here. Part of that is choosing to accept Iroh’s love, choosing to appreciate the good things instead of wishing for something that he doesn’t have, and we know that Zuko’s desire to go back to being the prince of the Fire Nation and earn his father’s affection is ultimately empty, and part of a life where he was abused, as well as where he was a part of a system that was oppressing others.
Then Zuko refuses Iroh’s advice about accepting a simple life in favor of pursuing Appa as the Blue Spirit - an identity that represents Zuko’s internal conflict between his fractured self image, which in book two involves him using the Blue Spirit identity to steal, to get back a part of the old life which he’s lost. It is extremely painful for him to admit that trying to get back to who he was before his banishment is causing him to engage in self-destructive behaviors that are stagnating his growth. Iroh just wants him to be safe and happy but he also knows that Zuko has to confront this conflict within himself.
That’s why, after he frees Appa, he must throw away the Blue Spirit mask once and for all, symbolically letting go of his desire to go back to the Fire Nation.
Iroh: You did the right thing, nephew. Leave it behind.
Giving up the past is never easy. Especially giving up the ideas he’s held onto for so long, the idea of what he can one day get back that, as Iroh said in book one, had kept Zuko going through his banishment, that gave him hope. But part of creating your own destiny is realizing that you can find hope in places you didn’t think you could find it. Zuko has to find something else to put his hope in and that’s represented physically by the sickness he suffers after freeing Appa. His entire sense of self has been shaken to the core, because change, real change, is hard.
Iroh: You should know that this is not a natural sickness, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying tea.
Iroh: Your critical decision. What you did beneath that lake. It was in such conflict with our image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body.
Iroh: You are going through a metamorphosis, my nephew. It will not be a pleasant experience, but when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be.
Tea even makes an appearance during Zuko’s “metamorphosis,” because the tea is symbolic, y’all. Then when Zuko wakes up from his sickness, we see an immediate change in him.
Iroh: Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow.
Zuko: [Optimistically.] It’s a new day. We’ve got a new apartment, new furniture, and today’s the grand opening of your new tea shop. Things are looking up, Uncle.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that Zuko has suddenly decided that he loves serving tea and working customer service, but the change he’s experienced is about choosing to find the good, to accept change into his life, to accept humility, and love. And this is the most happy we’ve ever seen Zuko be. We also see him emotionally supporting Iroh and working on his relationship with his uncle because he knows that seeing Zuko happy makes Iroh happy. Before, Zuko made a big show of his unhappiness, slamming doors and frowning and shouting and generally acting like a spoiled teenager with major authority issues, which made Iroh visibly upset. Iroh constantly tries to get Zuko to change his attitude but in the end it’s something that Zuko has to choose himself.
Iroh: Who thought when we came to this city as refugees, that I’d end up owning my own tea shop? Follow your passion, Zuko, and life will reward you.
Zuko: Congratulations, Uncle.
Iroh: I am very thankful.
Zuko: You deserve it. The Jasmine Dragon will be the best tea shop in the city.
Iroh: No. I’m thankful because you decided to share this special day with me. It means more than you know.
Zuko: Now let’s make these people some tea!
This is more than just Zuko being happy for Iroh or trying to be happy because Iroh wants him to be happy. We see the idea repeated here that you can choose your own destiny, and that those who do are rewarded by life. This is also echoed in Zuko’s conversation with Katara in which he tells her that lately he has realized that he is free to choose what he makes of the scars of his past, and his future. We also see him practicing what Iroh told him, he lets go of shame by letting go of pride. Instead of talking about what he thinks he deserves, he talks about what Iroh deserves. The dialogue also indicates that Zuko chose to be there.
This development is emphasized when Zuko and Iroh are invited to serve tea to the Earth King.
Iroh: I … I can’t believe it!
Iroh: Great news! We’ve been invited to serve tea to the Earth King!
Zuko goes from “step aside, filth!” and complaining about doing work to smiling about serving tea to the king of a rival nation. That’s character development. And as I said before, it was essential to Zuko’s development in becoming the kind of Fire Lord that he is supposed to be.
The dramatic irony of Katara finding them and unintentionally ratting them out to Azula is that when Katara enters the tea shop, she finds not only a Zuko in a tea apron, but a happy one enthusiastically taking people’s orders.
Zuko: Uncle! I need two jasmine, one green, and one lychee!
Iroh: I’m brewing as fast as I can!
I love this scene so much because it’s like, imagine that you decide to go to Panera Bread and you find Kylo Ren working at the counter, cheerfully asking you if you want chips or an apple with that. It’s also hilarious that Katara’s immediate thought is they’re infiltrating the city when she knows that there’s an evil force of brainwashing government agents lurking about.
That Zuko genuinely found peace with his life in Ba Sing Se is narratively important because it makes what happens next even harder for him. “The Crossroads of Destiny” is a true crossroads because he’s fought hard to find happiness and hope in his new life, but then it’s all ripped away and he’s put to the test. That he fails it this time just emphasizes how hard it is to break free of old destructive habits.
This is why when he does go back to the Fire Nation, we’re shown his doubts, and how uncomfortable he is. He tries to be happy and to accept his role as prince, but he already knows that this is not the destiny he wants for himself. The excessive opulence of the Fire Nation is meant to show this. We see this in scenes like Zuko constantly being unhappy during the beach episode and becoming angry when he is told to relax and do nothing, and his insecurity at the party in a room full of rich kids.
In particular, we see him being uncomfortable being waited on by servants in “Nightmares and Daydreams”:
Servant #1: Fresh fruit, Prince Zuko?
Zuko puts out his hand and shakes his head respectfully.
Servant #2: May I wash your feet, sir?
Zuko respectfully puts his hand out and shakes his head again.
Servant #1: Head massage?
Zuko shakes his head again.
Zuko looks at the towels for a moment and takes one. He is seen wiping his forehead before walking out of the room. The two servants bow behind him. Zuko walks out the palace gates, with Fire Nation citizens waiting for him.
Servant #1: Prince Zuko, is something wrong? You didn’t take the palanquin.
Zuko: I’m just going to Mai’s house. It’s not far.
Servant #1: It’s not a prince’s place to walk anywhere, sir.
Zuko looks to the distance, walks over, and gets into the palanquin.
We see him trying to fit in with Mai because he’s a sixteen year old who has a girlfriend for the first time in his life and he wants to impress her, but what this scene actually shows is their differing values.
Zuko: Tell me, if you could have anything you want right now, what would it be?
Mai: Hm … A big fancy fruit tart, with rose petals on top.
Zuko: You know, being a prince and all, I might just be able to make that happen.
Mai: That would be impressive.
Zuko: [To the servants.] Do you think you could find a fresh fruit tart for the lady, with rose petals on top?
Servant: Excellent choice, sir.
Mai: I guess there’s some nice perks that come with being royalty. [Pushing Zuko to lay down with her.] Though there’s annoying stuff, too. Like that all-day war meeting coming up.
Zuko: [Sitting up, followed by Mai.] War meeting? What are you talking about?
Mai: Azula mentioned something. I-I assumed you were going, too.
Zuko: I guess I wasn’t invited.
The two look away from each other.
Zuko asks Mai what she would want if she could have anything and what she comes up with is fruit tarts. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Mai is shallow, but what it does mean is that she’s never had to worry about what she wants in terms of the big picture.
“Who are you, and what do you want?”
She’s also never had to go hungry like Zuko has, and never had to serve others like Zuko has.
And then she brings up the war meeting, which to her is only an annoyance. Zuko doesn’t care about fruit tarts and palanquin rides, but this is something he cares about. It’s also funny to me that Mai is like “make out time,” and let’s be real, nobody would fault Zuko, a sixteen year old boy, for enjoying a little hanky panky, but Zuko is like “no, anxiety time!” Which shows how much he’s changed and how much he is struggling to be happy despite all the fruit tarts and hot towels and having a girlfriend who is all over him.
It is NOT a coincidence that when Zuko joins the gaang, we see him genuinely happy and among friends and making and serving tea.
Zuko had to go back to the Fire Nation to really understand how much he had changed and to really be able to choose his own destiny, but we know which one he chooses, between a life of empty riches and a life helping others. Even when we see him addressing the people as Fire Lord, his speech is all about service and humility. When the crowd cheers for him, he does this:
Zuko: Please. The real hero is the Avatar.
Which shows how far he’s come from the boy who so desperately wanted recognition, who was repulsed by the idea of serving others or lowering himself to the status of a “peasant,” who only thought of himself and what he deserved. His last scene is not his coronation, not his triumphant moment of standing in front of a crowd as Fire Lord, or even confronting his father, but a quiet moment, serving tea to his friends.
kianamaiart
vaporwave
titsay
prguitarman
theartofmadeline
snowghoul
