It has also been noted that the guy on the left looks a little like Zuko with the slender appearance and the scar on the left side of his face (the two things at his back look like they’re probably eskrima/kali sticks), while the guy on the right is imposing and powerful like Combustion Man with a getup that kind of rumbles some to the exaggeration Earth Kingdom garb we see in display at Earth Rumble Six (down to the giant belt--though that would be more of a championship belt):
In order to make some of my longer metas more readable, I have decided to break them down into more easily digestible bites. The Complete Post can be found here.
“It is still inside of your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love.”
Aang and Zuko experience various kinds of loss, and deal with their loss in different sorts of ways. But, the show still does its best to tie everything together, especially when it comes to our three central characters: Aang, Zuko, and Katara.
Just focusing on Aang and Zuko though, we have four primary parental figures: Monk Gyatso, Iroh, Ozai, and Ursa.
While we never got to see Aang’s parents, we know that Monk Gyatso was like a father to him. Zuko, on the other hand, had both his parents. However, while Aang grew up in a supportive environment, Zuko grew up in a much more hostile, and abusive one. Still, Zuko, like Aang, had family that loved and supported him. He had his mother, Ursa, and he had Iroh, his uncle and surrogate father.
Both Aang and Zuko lose their parental figures at one point or another. Aang, fearing separation from Gyatso, runs away. This leads to him being frozen and eventually having to deal with Gyatso’s death. In addition to losing Gyatso, however, Aang also loses his entire culture, thus adding another layer to his grief.
Zuko’s situation is a little more different. While he doesn’t lose his culture, Zuko loses three parental figures between his birth and the final season, as well as being exiled from his homeland. That said, the sort of loss Zuko goes through with each of his parental figures is very different.
The first parental figure that Zuko loses is his father. The difficulty here though is that because of the abuse Zuko endured, Zuko doesn’t quite realize this until the second half of the third season, and thus does everything he can to gain and maintain whatever love Zuko thinks Ozai has for him.
However, Zuko’s journey—in terms of his losing Ozai’s love—leads him to conclude that whatever love Ozai had for him (if he even loved him), doesn’t matter because he had other, better parental figures in his life. Furthermore, as Zuko himself mentions, winning his father’s love wasn’t worth losing sight of who he was.
This brings us to Ursa and Iroh.
The next parental figure Zuko loses is his mother, who was banished as part of a deal that would spare Zuko’s life. And, while we don’t see her much, we still see how she helped shape some of Zuko’s decisions (like him not giving up in “Zuko Alone,” and his ultimately staying true to himself by choosing to leave the Fire Nation).
Eventually, Zuko also loses Iroh (albeit temporarily) when he seemingly renounces his love for him so he can gain his father’s love. However, after this betrayal and his reunion with his father, Zuko soon realizes that it’s Iroh’s love, and not Ozai’s twisted idea of love, that matters most.
And, as mentioned in previous sections, both Aang and Zuko are forced to confront their loss. They deal with this loss in different ways but, they still need to lean to move on, even if they’re only partially able to do so.
That said, we see how both Aang and Zuko have trouble dealing with loss, and are often in denial of that loss. As the series progresses, we see how their inability to deal with their loss and their refusal to let go ties not only into their respective arcs but, also interacts with the themes of destiny and identity as well.
For example, Aang at first refuses to believe that the Air Nomads are actually dead. This leads to him discovering Monk Gyatso’s remains, and having to deal with the reality of the Air Nomad Genocide. Later, he sees what a group of Earth Kingdom refugees did to the Northern Air Temple, and he has to deal with that as well. Then, he deals with losing Appa, and we see how that affects him as the Gaang travels to Ba Sing Se. Finally, we see him having difficulty letting go of Katara, and later having to deal with losing in Ba Sing Se. As the series progresses, Aang learns how to move on, and to accept that he’s the last of his people.
Likewise, Zuko must deal with the loss of his father’s love. And, like Aang with the loss of his people, he tries to deny that his father doesn’t love him time and time again. Even when people like Zhao and Azula lay down the facts, Zuko refuses to accept that as reality, and instead persists in his belief that his father actually loves him. Eventually, after returning home, Zuko realizes that his father’s love doesn’t matter, and thus is able to break free and forge new connections.
And now, having talked about loss, we come to parts seven and eight of this meta, which are somewhat interconnected.
Aang and Zuko Parallels, Part 12: Book 2 parallels
In order to make some of my longer metas more readable, I have decided to break them down into more easily digestible bites. The Complete Post can be found here.
In Book 2, several things happen. First and foremost, Aang tries to find an earthbending teacher while Zuko and Iroh travel around the Earth Kingdom as fugitives. Next, we hit a turning point which involves both Aang and Zuko trying to make it to Ba Sing Se. As these two narratives play out, we encounter many parallels between Aang and Zuko.
The Avatar State
Like many Avatar episodes, “The Avatar State” features an A-plot focusing on Aang, and a B-plot focusing on Zuko. And, like some of these episodes, Aang and Zuko parallel each other.
We start off with General Fong and Azula giving Aang and Zuko a very tempting offer. General Fong offers to help Aang get into and master the Avatar state, while Azula seemingly offers Zuko a way home.
Despite being warned by Katara and Iroh, Aang and Zuko take the bait. Where Aang tries to back out of General Fong’s offer before being forced to fight (with a small parallel between him voicing his refusal to fight General Fong in “The Avatar State,” and Zuko refusing to fight Ozai in “The Storm”), Zuko is tricked by Azula, who was really trying to take Iroh and Zuko home as prisoners.
This leads to a couple of nice camera framing parallels between Aang and Zuko. And in the end, both Aang and Zuko realize that their mentors were right, and they continue with their journey.
With that said, this episode continues to do what “Siege of the North” already began to do. Regarding Aang, it puts him in a position to further embrace and continue with his destiny as the Avatar. With Zuko, it continues to make it difficult for him to embrace what he thinks his destiny is, and we see him continuously having to struggle with his circumstances from this point on.
Aside from that, “The Avatar State” continues to show us Zuko’s refusal to believe that his father doesn’t love him, which ties into both Zuko’s loss arc as well as his overall redemption arc.
Bitter Work
After a few more episodes of adventuring, and after Zuko runs into the Gaang in “The Chase,” we come to “Bitter Work.” This episode takes place right after the events of “The Chase” and, like “Winter Solstice” and “The Avatar State,” hosts a lot of parallels between Aang and Zuko within the episode.
“Bitter work” finds Aang trying to learn earthbending, while Zuko tries to learn lightningbending. Both these characters find themselves with a bending block. Aang has trouble with earthbending because it’s the opposite of air, and Zuko has trouble creating lightning because of his inner turmoil.
Eventually, Aang overcomes his block, while Zuko does not. And, despite learning lightning redirection, Zuko is still frustrated about his inability to lightningbend, which leads to a nice contrast between the endings of our A-plot and B-plot where Aang is proud of his accomplishments while Zuko is still upset.
Here, I would also like to note that not only does Iroh’s speech to Zuko parallel what Huu told Aang in “The Swamp” but, also that Iroh’s speech is followed up by Aang using an earthbending stance with airbending to deter a moose lion, thus demonstrating the practicality of combining the different bending styles.
The Serpent’s Pass
Eventually, we come to the “The Serpent’s Pass,” where Aang and Zuko almost meet as they try to get passage across Full Moon Bay. However, they ultimately don’t as Aang and the rest of his group choose to travel with a couple of refugees they met along the way.
Before we get into the Aang/Zuko parallels though, it would be worth noting that between “The Avatar State” and “The Library” we’ve seen Zuko become a fugitive of the Fire Nation, as well as Appa being stolen. These two events leave Aang and Zuko feeling rather hopeless. Iroh and Katara try to cheer them up but, Aang and Zuko refuse their comfort. Eventually though, both Aang and Zuko come around, and their respective journeys continue.
Furthermore, Aang losing Appa is tied into his loss arc due to the significance Appa has to him. Appa was Aang’s best friend and, just like with Katara’s necklace, Appa was a connection to Aang’s past and the people he lost.
Likewise, the whole idea that Zuko is feeling hopeless because he can’t return home also ties into his loss arc as well because, as I’ve already established: all Zuko wants to do is go back home and gain his father’s love and acceptance, something that he feels he’s lost and thus must store.
That said, we again see that Aang is more willing to try and move on and focus on the present instead of moping around, while Zuko continues to brood and long for his home.
City of Walls and Secrets
After everyone crosses Full Moon Bay, the Gaang, Zuko, and Iroh eventually make it to Ba Sing Se. Aside from Zuko struggling with the idea of having a new life in Ba Sing Se, and Aang trying to find Appa, we’re left with a rather striking contrast between Aang and Zuko.
Aang, the humble Air Nomad monk gets settled in the Upper Ring. Aang dislikes Ba Sing Se because of the contrast between how he was taught to live, and how those in the Ba Sing Se live.
Zuko, the Fire Nation prince, gets settled in the Lower Ring. He dislikes that, of course, because he’s a Fire Nation prince, and he’s being forced to live in poverty.
Lake Laogai
This brings us to “Lake Laogai.”
In this episode, Katara meets up with Jet who informs her and the Gaang that he can help them find Appa. Meanwhile, Zuko chances upon one of Aang’s wanted posters for Appa, which makes him want to go look for the giant bison so he can capture Aang, thus giving him another shot at going home and regaining his father’s love.
As the episode progresses, and the audience begins to think that the Gaang is getting close to finding Appa, we get a nice little camera framing parallel when it’s revealed that it’s Zuko who finds Appa, and not Aang.
This leads to Iroh confronting Zuko, and telling him just how much he’s letting his honor quest control him, and how much damage he’s doing to himself because of it. And Zuko, despite doing all he can to ignore his uncle, and telling him that he’s only doing what he has to, is eventually forced to face the facts and abandon his quest.
This ends with him setting Appa free, and allowing him to return to Aang.
Stepping back for a moment though, Zuko, finding himself at another obstacle where he’s forced to face to the futility of his quest, seemingly abandons his search to be who his uncle wants him to be. Meanwhile, Aang finds himself one step closer to meeting with and making an ally of the Earth King, thus bringing him closer to ending the war and fulfilling his destiny as the Avatar.
The Guru
“The Guru” finds Aang trying to master the Avatar state by opening his chakras, while Zuko seemingly lets go of his quest to begin a new life in Ba Sing Se. And, just like he did in “The Swamp,” and just like Zuko did in “Bitter Work,” Aang learns about the four elements and the four nations being connected.
The Crossroads of Destiny
This brings up to the Book 2 finale, “The Crossroads of Destiny,” where Aang and Zuko are forced to make a crucial decision.
Stepping back for a moment though, between “Lake Laogai” and “The Guru,” we’ve seen Aang and Zuko struggle with their choices. Aang struggles with whether he can or should let go of Katara to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and Zuko struggles with his identity and whether he can or should let go of whatever love he thinks his father has for him, and any love he has for his father.
In “The Guru,” Aang finds that he can’t let go of Katara who, like Appa, is a connection to his past (“The Air Nomads’ love for you has not left this world. It is still inside of your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love.”). Zuko, in contrast, has seemingly let go of his past as well as any love he had for Ozai, and vis versa. This dynamic gets reversed in “Crossroads,” as Aang lets go of Katara to achieve the Avatar state, while Zuko sides with Azula because he has a shot at gaining Ozai’s love.
Regarding other parallels, we start off with Zuko saying he’s tired of running (which parallels Aang telling Azula he’s not running in “The Chase”). Zuko gets captured, Iroh tries to help the Gaang stop Azula’s coup, and we eventually get to our big fight where Zuko, who is unable to let go of his old identity and his father’s love, sides with his sister.
Likewise, even though he was unable to give up Katara in “The Guru,” Aang eventually lets of Katara in the finale to achieve the Avatar state.
This leads to Aang getting shot down by lightning, and Zuko thinking he’s regained his honor, and doubting his decisions.
Aang and Zuko Parallels, Part 11: Book 1 parallels
In order to make some of my longer metas more readable, I have decided to break them down into more easily digestible bites. The Complete Post can be found here.
Before I get started, let me explain how this will work. I’ll go through each season in order, pointing out parallels along the way. However, to maintain continuity, and to ensure better organization (and because the payoff will be better by the time I get to Book 3), parallels that occur between two different episodes will be mentioned in the episode that’s closest to the finale.
So, the plot of Book 1 is pretty straightforward. All our characters start out in and around the Southern Water Tribe when Aang is freed from his iceberg. This leads to all our main characters being introduced to each other, and Zuko chasing Aang as he travels to the North Pole so he and Katara can learn waterbending.
Along the way, we learn some of Aang and Zuko’s backstory, and we get to see a couple of nice parallels between them too.
The Boy in the Iceberg
Let’s start off in the very beginning, where we’re first introduced to Aang and Zuko.
“The Boy in the Iceberg” starts in the icy seas of the South Pole where we meet Katara and Sokka, two siblings from the Southern Water Tribe. They’re simply trying to catch themselves some dinner but, a series of events leads to them finding a boy trapped in ice.
This boy turns out to be Aang—a person who we later learn is the Avatar, which means that 1) he’s the bridge between the human world and the Spirit World, and 2) that he can master all four elements.
However, as Aang is freed from the ice, we see an immense amount of spiritual energy pouring out of it, which leads to our next character introduction.
The camera starts to move away from the giant energy beam and we eventually cut to Zuko, who we immediately learn is on the hunt for the Avatar. Concluding that the Avatar must have been the cause of the energy beam, Zuko sets a course toward the light.
And, after some more character introductions, some world building, and a series of events that lead to a flare being fired from an abandoned Fire Navy ship, the episode ends with Zuko tracking Aang back to Katara and Sokka’s village.
Here, aside from being introduced to our main cast, we get our first ever transition between Aang and Zuko. And, while it’s not all that impressive, it’s still a first for the Avatar and the Firelord.
That said, this episode is also important in that it sets up Aang and Zuko’s respective arcs for the rest of the series. It sets up Zuko as the frustrated banished prince who is constantly trying to regain his honor so he can return home and gain his father’s love, and it sets up Aang as this Avatar who was so burdened by the revelation that he was the Avatar that he ran away.
The Avatar Returns
This brings us to “The Avatar Returns,” which picks up where “The Boy in the Iceberg” left off.
After setting off the flare in the previous episode, Katara and Aang return to the village where they find an unfriendly welcome. The villagers, noticing the flare set off in the previous episode, fear that the Fire Nation will be on them at any moment, and thus banish Aang from their village.
Eventually, Zuko arrives and we see our first interaction between protagonist and deuteragonist as Aang and Zuko fight. However, after noticing that Zuko is unintentionally harming civilians with his fire, Aang offers himself up as a prisoner on the condition that the village be left alone.
After Zuko agrees and takes Aang prisoner, Sokka and Katara go after Aang and manage to catch up to him just as he’s about to escape, but not before he enters the Avatar state and waterbends at Zuko and his crew.
Here, there’s nothing really impressive parallel wise (—yet, just wait until we get to Book 3) but, episode 2 does introduce our main cast to each other. We continue to get introduced to Aang, Zuko, Katara, and Sokka, and we witness some more interactions between these four characters.
The Southern Air Temple
This brings us to “The Southern Air Temple,” which takes place immediately after “The Avatar Returns,” and is all about loss.
Let’s start with our A-plot. The A-plot of this episode features Aang, Katara, and Sokka visiting the Southern Air Temple, Aang’s home. Despite hearing about the war and the devastation caused by the Fire Nation, Aang is deep in denial, insisting that some of his people must have escaped the genocide. This changes, however, when Aang is forced to face the reality of the Air Nomad Genocide as well as the death of Monk Gyatso. And, unlike Zuko who we’ll see is still very much in denial of his loss, Aang begins to accept his loss, going so far as to conclude that the Fire Nation must have gotten to the other temples as well.
Now, having said that, we can focus on our B-plot, which follows Zuko and Iroh. We start off with Zuko and Iroh paying a visit to Zhao’s harbor in the hopes of repairing their damaged ship. Here, Zhao outright tells Zuko that his father doesn’t want him. But, Zuko being Zuko, denies this, and even goes so far as to challenge Zhao to a duel all because Zhao dared suggest that his father doesn’t love him. And, it’s in this state of tension where we get our first hint at Zuko’s past.
So, what can we say about Aang and Zuko at this point?
Well, we know that both characters have experienced some sort of loss. We don’t know the details about Aang’s being frozen or the details of Zuko’s banishment but, we know that both characters have experienced loss, and we know that that lose concerns a father figure in one way or another.
As the series continues, we’ll see both characters deal with this loss until finally coming into acceptance.
Winter Solstice
After “The Avatar Returns” and “The Warriors and Kyoshi,” “Winter Solstice” is the third (and fourth, since this is a two-part special) episode where we see Aang and Zuko butt heads.
In “Winter Solstice, Part 1,” Aang travels to a small village where he tries to stop a spirit from attacking it. Meanwhile, Zuko chases Aang but, he ultimately has to make a choice between hunting Aang and rescuing his uncle.
“Winter Solstice, Part 2” again finds Zuko chasing Aang, this time to the Fire Nation. Here, we see some more world building done as it’s revealed that Firelord Sozin used the Great Comet (now called Sozin’s Comet) to start the war, and that Ozai will use the next coming of the comet to end it.
Aside from a neat little parallel where Aang and Zuko finish each other’s sentences, we have a few things going on.
First, despite not knowing how, Aang decides to try and communicate with the spirits, and later tries to rescue Sokka from Hei Bai. Zuko, in the meantime, makes a choice between going after Appa, and saving his uncle from earthbending soldiers. He chooses to save his uncle.
Later, both Aang and Zuko make a dangerous trek into the Fire Nation. For Aang, the danger is obvious—he’s the Avatar, and of course it would be dangerous for him to go. In a similar vein, it’s dangerous for Zuko to go as well, since returning home would mean his death if he gets caught.
Thus, this episode shows us three things. First, it begins to show us that Aang is willing to step into his role as the Avatar, and that he’s willing to take the risks associated with his duty. Secondly, it shows us that not only is Zuko still in denial of his losing his father’s love but, that he’s willing to take immense risks in order to regain Ozai’s love also. And lastly, this episode is the first of many episodes to show the struggle between Zuko’s wanting to do what’s right, and wanting to do everything he can to win his father’s affections or to get a piece of home.
As the show progresses, we’ll see this struggle between right and wrong play out even more until Zuko finally changes sides.
The Waterbending Scroll
Next, we have “The Waterbending Scroll.”
In this episode, Aang and the Gaang come across some pirates and a waterbending scroll. After Katara steals the scroll, Aang and Katara try to learn from it. However, after Katara gets a little jealous of Aang’s bending and tries to learn from it in the dark of night, she gets captured by Zuko, and we see the consequences of Katara’s actions unfold as Zuko tries and fails to capture Aang.
I know I said I won’t focus on insignificant stuff but, I just like this camera framing parallel (plus, we have a nice shot of Katara and Iroh having their attention caught by something they find to their fancy).
The Storm
And now, having to gotten to “The Storm,” the fun can really begin.
We start out with Aang and Zuko reflecting on just how nice the weather is. One storm symbolizing the turmoil of their past, and one camera framing/transition parallel later, and Aang and Zuko’s backstories begin to unravel.
Here, we learn how the pain and pressure Aang and Zuko were put through affected their decisions, and the position they found themselves in at the start of the series. For example, Aang, fearing separation from Gyatso, runs away. Meanwhile, Zuko, wanting both to gain his father’s love and protect his people, speaks out of turn and is eventually burned and banished.
The episode ends with some really beautiful imagery as Aang looks at Zuko, and Zuko looks at Aang. We don’t know where their journeys will take them but, still we sense some sort of connection between these two characters.
We also again see that Aang finds it easier to move on than Zuko. After all, this episode was all about Aang and Zuko’s past, and their ability to move on from their past mistakes. And, as we had seen in “The Southern Air Temple,” Zuko is very much tied to his past.
The Blue Spirit
This brings us to “The Blue Spirit,” which takes place immediately after the events of “The Storm,” and again shows us the strong connection between Aang and Zuko.
So, Zhao is again on the hunt. He captures Aang. Zuko, fearing that his honor is at stake, goes to rescue Aang as the Blue Spirit (even if his intentions aren’t all that noble). This leads to Aang and Zuko working together for the first time ever.
After Zhao has Zuko shot with an arrow, Aang learns the identity of the Blue Spirit and decides to save him, which eventually leads to the most well-known foreshadowing moment in the entire franchise.
Seeking sanctuary in a forest, Aang tells Zuko about his friend, Kuzon, who we learn was from the Fire Nation. At the end of his anecdote, Aang wonders if he and Zuko could have been friends had their circumstances been different.
While Zuko answers Aang with an attack, we still get the sense that maybe, just maybe, Zuko considers Aang’s question as he looks off into the distance.
After Aang returns to his and the Gaang’s shelter, and after Zuko returns to his ship, a delirious Sokka asks Aang if he made any new friends. Aang, thinking only of Zuko, responds with “No, I don’t think they did.”
This leads us into a nice little transition between Aang and Zuko, as well as one final parallel as Zuko considers Aang’s question.
Siege of the North
“Siege of the North” is our big climax for Book 1. Here, we see The Northern Water Tribe prepare for battle against the Fire Nation fleet led by Admiral Zhao. Meanwhile, Aang tries to find a way to defeat Zhao and save the Northern Water Tribe from his assault.
While there’s not much to say about “The Siege of the North” in regard to Aang/Zuko parallels, we still have a moment where both Aang and Zuko try to save their enemies.
Aside from these events, we also hit our first major benchmark since the start of the series. Here, we see Aang beginning to accept his destiny as the Avatar and going into the world ready to be the hero that it needs. Meanwhile, Zuko is still shunned by his father and his people, and has hit a major obstacle after his quest to fulfill what he thinks his destiny comes to a halt.
Katara and Zuko Parallels, Part 6: Loss, foils, and final conclusions
In order to make some of my longer metas more readable, I have decided to break them down into more easily digestible bites. The Complete Post can be found here.
Loss and foils
Now we come to our final group of parallels between Katara and Zuko.
I mentioned already that loss is a powerful motivator for our main characters, and makes them do a lot of the things they do (in fact, a lot of the conversations that Zuko and Katara have focus on loss). I also mentioned the connection between Zuko and Yon Rha, and how this parallel played into Katara’s hatred for Zuko.
In “The southern Raiders,” we see a version of Katara that we’ve never seen, a version of Katara that is so blinded by her need for revenge that one can’t help but draw parallels to Zuko in the first season, and how he was blinded and motivated by his need to regain Ozai’s love.
In fact, the show does us one better by doing just that.
The story itself resembles the arc of “The Avatar State.” Azula and Zuko give them an offer which revolves around what Katara and Zuko have both lost–Ozai’s love, and Katara’s mom. They agree. Aang, Sokka, and Iroh warn them not to do it, but Katara and Zuko refuse to back down and end up saying things that they might later regret. Both characters end up going through with their plans, with Aang and Iroh giving their reluctant support. The two plots continue from there with the two episodes’ separate conclusions.
But now for the fun stuff.
In “The Southern Raiders,” Katara becomes a foil for Zuko by showing us just how far Zuko has come. Where most shows might use this kind of parallel to make the antagonist (or anti-hero, in Zuko’s case) sympathetic to the protagonist or vis versa, TSR does it to highlight just how far Zuko has come from his Book 1 beginnings. In addition to this, it kind of helps Katara walk a mile in Zuko’s shoes in a way, maybe showing her where exactly Zuko was coming from . Consequently, this all ties right into the “Zuko learns that mercy isn’t stupid” arc which I mentioned earlier.
Thus, we get a parallel with Katara and Zuko saying they do not have a choice. This refers to Katara going after Yon Rha, and to Zuko’s need to capture Aang to restore his father’s love.
We also get another parallel that really helps to drive home just how determined Katara and Zuko were in their respective missions. Here, they are so determined and angry that they refuse to sleep, with Iroh and Zuko having to come along to tell them that they need to rest.
And finally, in what might be the most creepy of the TSR related parallels, Katara’s look when Zuko confronts her at the start of the episode resembles the twisted expression we see on Zuko in “The Waterbending Scroll” when he has Katara tied up, and that’s just downright scary.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Katara and Zuko are two similar individuals who go through some very different but, at the same time, very similar experiences. They are fiercely determined, and like many of our characters, they have lost so much.
Their loss is what makes them grow into the people we see in the show, and it’s their determination, combined with their loss, that makes them clash, interact, and grow as characters.
