We need to discuss Aang disservice…
There are some Zutara fans who still appreciate Aang and actually recognize the disservice done to his character, when he could have had a truly legendary arc and reasonable motivations to be shipped with x person.
This arc could consist in him accepting his responsibilities and duties as the Avatar, while realizing he can still find joy and fun anyway—because that’s who he is—just without directly avoiding his problems. It could also consist in preserving his culture without suppressing others’.
It could be about him dealing with the pain of being the last of his kind, exploring his survivor’s guilt and his loneliness as the only airbender, with no one who truly understands Air Nomad philosophy. Giving him real angst for that—nightmares, emotional weight—and showing a slow but genuine healing process.
He would carry all that knowledge and try to preserve it in the most balanced and healthy way possible. But the arc should also acknowledge that this task has limits, meaning he has to accept failure, endure it, and keep going anyway.
And it could also involve him learning to accept others’ pain, trying to rebuild his people, and recognizing that he can be a little hypocritical at times—but still someone who genuinely fights for his ideals.
The imperfections of characters are what make ‘em memorable—for example Zuko, who had one of the worst upbringings and major flaws, yet went through a clear process of change. He didn’t become perfect, but he learned things his past self couldn’t even grasp.
What distinguishes him from Aang is that his development is actually explored, while Aang’s often feels flatter in comparison. Aang is the hero, and while he does struggle, he doesn’t always really question himself in a way that fully changes him. He still has to learn how to not run away from his problems. And the story doesn’t always push that as far as it could.
He goes into the Avatar State, literally threatening everyone, and then someone grabs him and calms him down. He doesn’t always know how to react to criticism, and sometimes he doesn’t fully understand others, yet these aspects don’t really get explored deeply or consistently.
But overall he is still a great character, with a good storyline—he shows what he wants to work on. The problem is that sometimes it feels like the next episode resets that, and he ends up doing the same things all over again instead of building on it.
And in tlok there is all that he has harvested.
He’s described as a distant father—something even his own children point out, even acolytes don’t know who Kya and Bumi are… He’s shown as a father that favors his airbender to the other two… Just someone who didn’t fully balance everything.
[Subjective thought maybe also a bad husband? A bad friend and avatar as the new film suggest to be???]
It's much more rewarding observe someone slowly working to improve, rather than stagnating in their mistakes.
That’s what gives viewers hope.
Right now I’m not satisfied with his character—with how the show ended, and with what we see later in tlok and other portrayals. It feels like there was space for something deeper that just wasn’t fully explored.
And, that, is what annoys me the worst: everything about him has so much potential it scratches my brain. It’s such a shame.
And also, it’s frustrating to see people act like everything about him has already been said, that he’s somehow perfect or untouchable—when no one else is. Not Zuko with his redemption, not Sokka, not Toph, not Katara, and especially not Iroh.
So accept Aang for who he is, speaking of writing, a character with wasted potential.
