Why Should the Audience Root for an Azula Redemption Arc Instead of a Proper Azula Punishment Arc?
Keynote: This was written as a Devil’s Advocate take and for the most part does not reflect my true views towards Azula since I do want her to get an atonement & healing arc.
Note (Here is Gene Yang all but implying Azula’s asylum was abusive): https://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/1027/avatar-last-airbender-search-cbr-interviews-gene-y
Why shouldn’t the audience after watching ATLA & reading the related comics root for a proper Azula punishment arc instead of an Azula redemption arc? Or why should anyone in-universe want Azula to be redeemed instead of being properly punished?
For I am pretty sure a genocidal, authoritarian who has attempted matricide, avunculicide, fratricide and is a child kidnapping domestic terrorist and seditionist who has not shown any outward remorse for her actions is not who most should show compassion towards.
And before people get up in arms about people in-universe or out of it practicing selective empathy, let us be frank and admit that selective empathy is something that most “good” people engage in all the time and something that most people reading this do all the time without questioning themselves.
I mean, did you feel sympathy when Osama Bin Laden was killed? Or when the U.S Capitol Hill invader was shot? Or when the Sandy Hook killer committed suicide after shooting up an elementary school?
So why would any of Azula’s actual and potential victims feel any sympathy towards Azula? Especially in an era where the age of majority is lower and they don’t really understand mental health at all?
Shouldn’t people’s, in and out of universe, sympathy be towards all the people she attempted to kill? The person who she did? All the traumatized kids she kidnapped?
And before anyone says that Azula’s mental health issues should at least cause a 21st century audience to at least tone down their desire to see Azula be properly punished, I don’t think that is the case.
For even disregarding the fact that a large percentage of the population is still ignorant about mental health issues, something that one children’s franchise, no matter how well written, can fix by itself, even people today have limits in regards to how much they are willing to accept mental health as a mitigating factor in regards to punishment, even in fiction.
For I know this is a different franchise, but The Joker is a severely mentally ill person after all and yet it is a pretty popular opinion, if not the supermajority one, that The Joker should have a shoot on sight order and/or that a superhero kill The Joker lest he fills more graveyards with innocent bodies.
So why should Azula be treated any differently? Especially since she is committed into turning Zuko into a tyrant, has shown that she will go to almost any length to ensure the success of her plan, and that her status as the GOAT firebender in combination with the fact that her power is likely growing by the day means that it is nigh-impossible to take her back into custody safely again, even if she suffers another mental breakdown?
“So what about all the people on the airships who were either going to burn the Earth Kingdom with Ozai and/or were making sure the ships were operational? Or what about all the people who helped or were complicit in all the other Fire Nation’s war crimes committed against Earth Kingdoms & Southern Water Tribesmen/women? Or how about the rest of the Fire Warriors? How come you are so focused on punishing a 14 or 16/17 girl you misogynistic, ableist POS?!”
Well, in regards to the war, who said that everyone who was complicit in the Fire Nation’s war crimes should not face proper punishment?
For while the comics make it clear that only Ozai and Azula (who was mercifully involuntarily psych warded and was given a chance, even if she had to create it, to reform even when she hadn’t shown any indication that she was remorseful) were punished for the Fire Nation’s crimes (ex. The Rough Rhinos are free & became Earthen Fire Industries’ bodyguards), I think one of the biggest mistakes that the Avatar franchise made was not holding a war crimes tribunal after the war to give a proper accounting of all the Fire Nation’s crimes and to make sure people faced justice.
For in addition to the powerful imagery of seeing the victims of genocide and colonization make their killers/oppressors face accountability on their terms, something that has unfortunately been denied to most IRL victims of both, it would have sent a powerful message to future generations in-universe *cough*Kuvira*cough that imperialism and genocide would never be tolerated.
Not to mention it seems odd that a show so focused on colonialism/imperialism and its negative effects denies those negatively harmed by it any real justice. Though Bryke are Westerners after all….
“Do you also think everyone that served the Fire Nation should be locked up?”
No, but everyone who directly committed war crimes, like Yon Rha, the people on Ozai’s warships or The Rough Rhinos, in addition to everyone high up on the chain of command, like Azulon & Ozai’s war council members ,should have been subjected to a war crimes tribunal if they were still alive and appropriately punished.
“But what about Zuko, Iroh, Mai, & Ty Lee?”
Yes, they should be tried too though it is obvious some people will get lightly punished and/or not punished at all based on their actions during the war.
“But Azula was just a mentally ill 14 year old who was just following the orders of her abusive father who was also her supreme sovereign.”
Well, if she is old enough to suggest, help plan, and fully intend to commit genocide, she is old enough to stand trial as an adult and receive a grown-up’s punishment.
Also, the “just following orders” excuse doesn’t really work considering Zuko, Mai, & Ty Lee, who are all her peers/close to her age, all turned against Ozai’s regime at one point despite the life or death consequences and/or harsh punishments they ended up facing.
“But isn’t Zuko a sovereign and thus has the ability to make sure he isn’t subjected to a war crimes tribunal?”
Well, if Zuko is as truly concerned with honor as he says he is, and is not written in an OOC fashion like comics!Zuko, he would willingly subject himself to the tribunal to send a message to the world that he is after real justice (and not a hollow victor’s justice) and to his subjects that he is not using the tribunal as an excuse to get rid of his political opponents/those that would be hostile to his regime.
For everyone forgets, but Zuko was a co-conqueror of Ba Sing Se and while we know Zuko changed sides because he meant well, to outside observers it seems like he knew he wouldn’t inherit the throne, at least not without Azula being the real power behind the throne, and so he joined The Avatar so he could get the throne (outright), even if it meant his nation fell in battle.
And in regards to the Fire Warriors, they should be punished just like Azula should be for engaging in a mass child kidnapping domestic, seditious terrorist plot as part of an ongoing terrorist plot to make Zuko into a tyrant.
For while the comics don’t give us that much to go off of, from what we do get, it appears that they willingly joined Azula to pay her back for breaking them out of their asylum (Smoke & Shadow library edition says that they all come from Azula’s asylum).
So they should face the consequences of their (apparently) freely chosen actions though I hope that in the process of doing so, the abusive nature of the asylums becomes public knowledge.
For in addition to it hopefully leading to a mental health revolution in the Fire Nation, Zuko can implement reforms to make sure that the asylums don’t become terrorist breeding grounds like they are as of current canon.
Also, Zuko, by publicly punishing his sister and subjecting her to the same laws that commoners/nobles have to face, would be sending a powerful message to his subjects that unlike his forefathers, the law applies equally to everyone regardless of their status and is not something that is selectively applied by the Fire Lord when it suits her/him.
So to sum up, it seems pretty clear that the narrative of ATLA seems to prime the audience for a proper Azula punishment arc. For not only has she committed several unforgivable, or at least nigh-unforgivable, crimes, she has failed to take any responsibility for her actions or show outward remorse.
Thus, the audience most likely wants to see Azula be punished as part of a greater Fire Nation war crimes tribunal and/or for her actions as part of the Fire Warriors.
And while either scenario might be hard for Azula stans fans to watch, at least they have the potential not only serve as a healing moment for people both in or out of the Avatar-verse, but at least provide very entertaining & thought provoking moments.
For imagine Ozai trying to justify his actions to a war crime tribunal? Or watching Iroh tensely wait and see if a jury believes his actions against his brother’s regime outweighs the crimes he committed/is responsible for as both an esteemed Fire Nation general & as Azulon’s heir for decades.
(Sidenote: Yes, technically we don’t know if Iroh committed war crimes but it is highly unlikely that Azulon’s crown prince & general was completely innocent. But I admit this is just a HC for now.)
Or imagine the courtroom scene as the Fire Warriors try to justify them following Azula due to being grateful for her breaking them out of the abusive asylum? Or when one of the asylum healers explains the nature of their treatments and it dawns on the audience that the asylums are worse than prison and are likely to breed terrorists due to inmates resenting the society that locked them up there “for their own good” instead of the more merciful option of prison?
For isn’t Avatar at its best when it manages to simultaneously be both entertaining and thought provoking at the same time?
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Note: This response to the above submission is not in anyway meant to come across as mean or disrespectful to anyone (including the submitter). This was typed up solely from my POV based on what I’ve experienced and witnessed in the fandom, and so if I deeply upset anyone, I’m sorry.
Please remember though, that I have no issue with anyone in particular. If someone would like to correct me on portions where I misinterpreted the submitter, or on ways my opinion could be wrong, please due so. I’m always welcome to having my views changed.
I meditated on whether or not I should respond in any way to this submission in particular or just publish it as is, but in the end, I felt it would be irresponsible of me to post it without giving even a sentence-worth of my thoughts (since someone may automatically assume I 100% co-sign your opinion).
Note 2: I did skim through a lot of it. So if I unfairly sear you, let me know, though I like to think no one would blame me for it.
So first of all, your title alone gave me trepidation over what your essay would be about. I’m not sure if you truly realize this, but I and many others are for Azula acquiring a real education and especially her finally healing (which is not the same as a “redemption” arc btw).
Which means we’re already used to seeing all the excuses people give for why she doesn’t deserve any of the above. That’s why I find it a little odd that you would type this up in the first place despite by your own words, wanting the best for her.
Surely you’ve also read all the false reasoning behind it and have basically just typed them all up and submitted them to me, no?
“Keynote: This was written as a Devil’s Advocate take and for the most part does not reflect my true views towards Azula since I do want her to get an atonement & healing arc.”
However, saying you love someone and want them to survive and later thrive, doesn’t actually make it so.
Plenty of people who call themselves “Azula stans” seem to be, in my opinion, the exact opposite. Just based off the degrading, misogynistic crap they create about her (and Mai and Ty Lee) and distribute for all to see online (if it’s online it’s fair game, sorry but it’s the truth).
Now I’m not saying that they’re casual fans/ATLA laymen and so must know less about Azula than I do.
I’m only saying that some people seem to love/appreciate her looks and overall aesthetics, and what she can give/do to/how she can pleasure their BB Zuko, but not her in specific.
I think you can guess what I’m talking about here. Not mentioning any group or person in particular, but they know who they are and may respond to this by calling me a hater, the purity police, an abuse apologist, or the ‘dreaded term’ anti.
But you know what? Someone, anyone, in any and every fandom should be allowed to notice this sort of thing and call it out. Otherwise, the right to disagree really is dead.
I’ll stop here on that conversation though. I think it deserves a post of its own to be honest.
you also said here (with an added link):
“Note (Here is Gene Yang all but implying Azula’s asylum was abusive): https://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/1027/avatar-last-airbender-search-cbr-interviews-gene-y”
You made it clear from the get-go that you will not only be talking about the Azula her fans actually know and adore, but also a caricature of a parody of an empty shell of the real Azula.
Nobody, not even Azula fans, gives a damn about the Azula from the comics (who is the one you look to have spent most of your post denigrating) except to mock Vengeful Ghost Lady Macmeth herself or, in the case of A-fans only, to point out how all her erratic suffering-induced behavior was caused in large amount by none other than Zuko himself!
You know since as you so sweetly put it, Azula “was mercifully involuntarily psych warded and was given a chance, even if she had to create it, to reform even when she hadn’t shown any indication that she was remorseful”.
By who? Zuko. Her own brother.
And to think you even appeared to have acknowledged by adding that Gene Yang-related link that her stay in the psych ward was cruel-beyond-belief and that she was given no guidance or compassion (two things an abused child would need to begin healing in the first place!). Azula has never been given a chance.
I really hope you’re not who I feel you may be, because that person has a bad track record on Azula and seems to think abuse and horrific hardship = the best way toward redemption (sorry, “healing”) and for only in Azula’s case.
As if Azula hasn’t already gone through more than enough strife, especially compared to others. I say this because I’m unsure if s/he really does wish the best for Azula in the near future or not, for this very reason.
Note 3: I don’t think it’s unacceptable to write a story where something upsetting happens to her. Some stories just read, to me, more like Azula Torture P*** (censoring jic) and/or unnecessary woobification for a character who already had moments where she struggled and questioned the morals she grew up on. That’s very 'human’ too, don’t you think?
Anything else I say on your views of the new Fire Lord and more, would just be me acting like I know how you feel about the other Fire Nation war criminals/war supporters (Iroh, Ozai, Ursa, Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee).
Although I get the feeling you don’t think what they did was even comparable to what Azula did in the comics or the show, despite them being her accomplices, willingly accepting her gifts in exchange for obeying her—and following Fire Nation custom, giving Azula orders to carry out the acts in the first place,
committing far worse war crimes for close to two (2!) whole years (on top of decades), and possibly being who she used to look up to and modeled her appearance, thoughts and behavior off of, respectively. (All of them are referenced to some degree in this paragraph.)
Also, we know that people who solely have an issue with Azula’s behavior are extremely biased and tend to not be open to a change of mind, no matter how this makes them appear.
A majority of your points boil down to “people are ignorant due to some distasteful beliefs from their cultures and being misled, and hate being proven wrong or hypocritical; so of course Azula is the most responsible for the end of the war and its aftermath, and must be punished for anything and everything the Fire Nation did/does”.
That’s how double standards are born and why they stick around.
Note Repeat: This response to the above submission is not in anyway meant to come across as mean or disrespectful to anyone (including the submitter). This was typed up solely from my POV based on what I’ve experienced and witnessed in the fandom, and so if I deeply upset anyone, I’m sorry.
Please remember though, that I have no issue with anyone in particular. If someone would like to correct me on portions where I misinterpreted the submitter, or on ways my opinion could be wrong, please due so. I’m always welcome to having my views changed.
