Post Ideas, #3
Headcanon: Neither Zuko nor Azula were trying to backstab each other in the last turtleduck pond scene.
So after looking over the answers I got, I came to the conclusion that #3 would be a good idea to write about first. This one’s been on my mind for some time.
One of the never-ending debates within this fandom appears to be about which sibling tried to double-cross the other first, after returning home to the Fire Nation. On one side we have people claiming Azula had to have gone out of her way to bring Zuko home and reinstated as crown prince, for the sole nefarious purpose of destroying him...somehow? (I think for someone to come to this conclusion, he/she would have to focus more on facial expressions and sound effects than dialogue and plot. Intentional on the part of the series crew I’m sure.) On the other side, we have a much smaller but still note-worthy crowd that believes it was actually Zuko that was out for sibling’s blood while the two of them were in front of the pond, due to his response to Azula’s questioning.
Both point-of-views didn’t come from nowhere and I can sympathize with either. However, I now believe that neither fire sibling was trying to harm the other (what happened before and afterward doesn’t matter much to that scene in question).
My reasoning is as follows:
In The Awakening Zuko and Azula have finally made it back home (as have Mai and Ty Lee). Lo and Li present them to the people as their returning Princess and Prince.
Now the heroes have returned home!
Your princess, Azula... [Crowd cheers.]
And after three long years, your prince has returned...
Zuko!
Zuko reacts to the praise, but not with scorn, anger, apathy or even regret.
He reacts to it with anxiety.
Zuko approaches with a worried expression. [Crowd cheers.]
We next see them while Zuko is doing his favorite pastime at the pond, and Azula walks up to him.
Why does Azula walk up to Zuko? Why does she come to the garden that we have little reason to believe she has a strong attachment to? Well, in Azula’s own words:
You seem so downcast. Has Mai gotten to you already? Though actually, Mai has been in a strangely good mood lately.
She notices his mood. She knows he’s gloomy about something but doesn’t want him to be. Especially not when things are (from her pov) going so well for him. The Mai line has been interpreted by some people from the fandom as a sex joke. I think the takeaway is the same regardless, but I’m pretty sure Azula is just trying to cheer Zuko up by (dryly) joking about the general disposition of her friend (who at this point is also his girlfriend) and by hinting to him (Azula’s not a very straightforward person like Zuko tends to be) that his presence is making a hard-to-please Mai, very happy. I think her saying Mai’s name twice was deliberate too.
I don’t sense any malicious intent on her part here.
Zuko responds to Azula’s prodding. She replies back casually, and then he states what he’s most worried about:
I haven't seen Dad yet. I haven't seen him in three years, since I was banished.
So what?
So, I didn't capture the Avatar.
Up to this point, their words and even tone-of-voice are calm and unassuming. Then the mood changes when Azula asks what the problem is again.
Who cares? The Avatar is dead. [Zuko looks away.] Unless you think he somehow miraculously survived.
This moment kills me because Zuko does something right away that I noticed he actually does more than once with Azula.
He looks away! It’s brief but it’s there. Everyone’s different, but when I look away after someone confronts me on something, it usually means that I’m 1. afraid of something or 2. ashamed of something. Zuko has reason to feel both here. He’s being confronted by Azula on a gravely important matter.
So after he looks away, Zuko remembers how Katara told him about the spirit water while they were in the Crystal Catacombs, before Azula arrived.
[During flashback.] This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important.
Wait, hold on a second. Did Katara just...not mention anything about the water being able to bring people back from the dead (aka help them survive as we saw Katara do for Aang)? Nope, she didn’t. She doesn’t imply that it can do that in the previous episode either. Here’s her saying the same thing but with another line and extra bit of info at the end:
[Holds up a vial.] This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important. [Moves in front of Zuko.] I don't know if it would work, but...
Even Katara doesn’t know what it would do. So why would Zuko? I think it’s obvious by this point that Azula wouldn’t know about it either.
After Zuko’s done having his probably-would-have-been-good-to-know-about flashback, he responds in a way that actually makes sense when you think about it.
No. There's no way he could have survived. [They glare at each other.]
Of course he’d respond that way. Why should he think anything else or assume he should tell her any differently? Who ever heard of someone coming back from the dead anyway? (Don’t answer that.) They glare at each other sure, but is that really evidence that either of them at this point had it out for each other? Sometimes people glare when someone proves them wrong. Sometimes people glare as a response to someone else’s glare. An angry expression isn’t synonymous with “watch your back”.
Now I’ll admit, Azula looking immediately displeased implies that she’s caught on and will bite back (though not necessarily try and horribly harm him, which she doesn’t do), but that’s only after Zuko lied to her (remember, we’re focusing on this scene only). She may not objectively know that he lied, but in her heart she knows, because he’s her brother. And he likely has failed to fool her in the past. I also don’t think Azula is the type to care all that much about reasons, only outcomes. Ends over means. So even if she knew for a fact that Zuko wasn’t trying to hurt her here, she’d still be livid and would still probably want to teach him a lesson about lying in such a way that multiple people could get screwed over.
Now to those still unconvinced about Azula’s innocence: What reason do you think she would have to want to harm Zuko for no reason?
To those sure that Zuko was being the crappiest sibling ever here: What do you think Zuko was trying to accomplish exactly?
Honest questions btw. Why would either sibling want to hurt each other in this scene? They’re not “good” people (and Zuko’s especially bad at being a sibling at this point) but...why?
I also think another argument to be had is whether Zuko is even cruel/conniving/smart enough to suddenly want to “throw Azula under the bus”. That would mean knowingly feeding her to the man that burnt him. Would he want her to be burned? Would he do that, and at that exact moment? We can only hope he’d never try to do something so low.
With that said, one of these days I’ll make a post about Zuko’s overall intelligence and intentions towards others (including those he has some bad blood with). It’s a number on that post somewhere.
Next up in important-ish discussion topics: #5