in gbd how does Zuko deal with his old haircut?
He is forced to live with it.
Cutting off a topknot/phoenix tail is a Big Deal in the Fire Nation has a lot of symbolism tied up into it. Zuko, who would really like to ensure his crew survives the Siege of the North if at all possible, is aware enough to know that he can’t get rid of it/start growing the rest out just yet, not unless he wants to make a public declaration of his “treason”. And would ensure that either he can’t protect his crew when the time comes or they go down with him against their will.
But just because he recognizes the importance of keeping the ponytail/shaved combo doesn’t mean he has to like it. When he realizes that, yes, this is really happening, I’m really on the Wani back in winter, he resigns himself to the meticulous and kinda time-consuming task of shaving everything but the diamond patch on top. A symbol, perhaps, of just how tightly wound Zuko was in Book I. Book III Zuko, on the other hand, just looks in the mirror, sighs, and says, “Sokka was right. This is a terrible haircut” before carefully tying it back up.
The ponytail gets sliced off at the first available opportunity, though. It’s not super dramatic or anything, because Zuko’s already made that decision, already done that Important Haircut. He just slices it off and lets his Uncle/Crew draw their own conclusions.
I think this puts Zuko’s hair about a month ahead in being grown out compared to canon.
