hi! i was rewatching atla for the first time in yearrsss, and was surprised by the zuko childhood flashbacks we get. there are a few clips where it seems like ozai (??) is walking behind him in a field, putting his hand on his shoulder, etc.
this seems to indicate that perhaps there was a time when ozai was a more present/caring father towards zuko? i suppose the fact that they even went on family vacations at all also indicates this to a certain extent, since i'd expect him to put zuko on a 365-12 hrs per day regime of firebending drills.
i wanted to ask your thoughts on this, and what it may suggest about ozai's relationship and feelings about zuko. of course ozai is disdainful and projecting his worst impulses onto his son, but i always thought that those were not the actions of someone who was truly 100% apathetic, if you get what i mean.
For the flashback Zuko has of Ozai's hand on his shoulder, my headcanon is that whether or not this was something Zuko actually remembers that really happened, his memory of it largely comes from the portrait from the Beach episode, in which Ozai has his hand on Zuko's shoulder in a similar way. Whenever we see this screenshot it's also sepia-toned, which of course is supposed to mimic old photography and signal that this is a memory, but it could also be used to signal to the audience that Zuko is not remembering things quite correctly.
Which is not to say that Ozai was never affectionate with Zuko, but what these shots are supposed to tell us in the narrative is that Zuko is longing for something from his father that he is not capable of giving. Interestingly, the person who actually does such fatherly gestures with Zuko freely and without condition is Iroh.
Although the hand on the shoulder itself is not an entirely altruistic gesture in the context of Ozai. It signals Ozai's possessiveness of Zuko and how Zuko feels constrained by that relationship. And of course, the family portrait is a carefully constructed lie, which is why Zuko is seen burning it when he realizes that this is not the life he wants.
I think family portraits, and family vacations, very easily lend themselves to Ozai's self-aggrandizing nature. Ozai sees his family as extensions of himself, and is displeased with them when they do not reflect on his own importance and superiority. I think he'd like going on a vacation if it made him feel important, made him feel like he was doing such a special thing for his family. I do like that bit in The Promise when he talks about saving Zuko from drowning on Ember Island because it fits with his own sense of self as this important person. And, of course, the way he sees Zuko as the son unworthy of his attention and care. But isn't he such a great guy for giving it to such an unworthy child?
What's also interesting about that story is the disdainful way he talks about Ursa doting on Zuko afterwards, not just because it emphasizes Zuko's weakness, but also because Ozai wants Ursa's attention to be on him. Ozai would definitely be the type to take his family on vacations to show off his wealth and greatness, then get mad when he's not the center of attention. And then he'd also use it to make Zuko feel guilty for being on vacation instead of doing firebending drills constantly, even when the vacation was his own idea.
Which I think is one reason why Zuko gets anxious when he's sent away on vacation. Because it's never just a vacation with Ozai.
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