Hey, there! I've been recently reading your blog and your fanfics and I'm really impressed with what you have to say about Avatar and Zutara in particular. I don't know if you're taking prompts, but if you are, could you do a contemplative piece comparing Zuko to a ronin (a wandering samurai without a master or a home)?
Thanks, that’s really sweet of you! I write mostly what I feel inspired to write in any given moment, and yes, sometimes I’ll do a prompt if I have something to say. As for a contemplative piece on Zuko with a samurai theme? This has been done, much more perfectly on the show than I could ever dream of doing it.
Zuko Alone hits on all the great themes of Samurai cinema; the masterless stranger, wandering the Earth, looking for his place in society. At the same time it’s a fine introspection as we see Zuko trying to make sense of the shattered pieces of his life trying to find his way; as every little moment, every relationship is filled with irresolvable tension between duty and conscience, between loyalty to his family, his nation and what feels right.
It’s centered around all the traditional Samurai virtues - Righteousness, Duty/Loyalty, Honour, Heroic courage, Compassion, Respect, Honesty, Self-Control.
Already the starting conflict is interesting. Will Zuko side with Li, who actively picks a fight with the soldiers stationed to protect the village, rat him out or stay out of it? Without any hesitation Zuko picks the boy’s side, against the bullies. It feels natural to him to protect the underdog, but without yet truly understanding or accepting the fact that in the larger scheme of the war, the Fire Nation is the bully.
And here’s where the flashbacks are so interesting, because we see how the two positive figures in his life - Ursa and Iroh - buy fully into the FN propaganda, laughing about burning down Ba Sing Se. It helps to understand how much Zuko’s been immersed into this worldview since early childhood, how this narrative has never been challenged even by the “good people” of his life. The journey across the Earth Kingdom is an eye-opener.
Zuko’s honour is of course the butt of many jokes. But it’s so central to his character. And from the outside it’s easy to see the irony. Zuko goes into great lengths to act with honour and integrity, even though he thinks he lost it. And yet the person he hopes would return his honour, Ozai himself is the antithesis of samurai virtues; he acts with no compassion, he doesn’t believe in loyalty, respect, or integrity. In his power-grab, he’s willing to sacrifice entire family without a second thought. Yet Zuko tries to stay loyal to his father who doesn’t want him.
On the other side, there is Ursa, who when faced with an impossible choice, chooses to protect Zuko at all cost, leaving him with nothing, but a cryptic message: “No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.”
This is not very helpful in this moment, because he’s nobody - he’s Lee, he’s a fugitive, he’s a banished and disgraced prince, branded as traitor. He has no home, no family. He’s a ronin.
We see Zuko still trying to act with integrity and compassion as he tries to earn the kindness extended to him (in contrast to his previous stealing), and for a moment it almost seems like he’s able to break through the boundaries, that he will earn a new place with his honourable actions. He bonds with a poor Earth Kingdom kid, who couldn’t be more different than him, yet Zuko sees himself in his plucky defiance, the pain over a broken family, the desire to change things. There is the elusive imagery under the moon - that maybe Zuko can choose a path to change sides, find a new place with a “nice Earth Kingdom family”.
There is the theme of the samurai being one with his sword - as Zuko explains the philosophy of the dao - they are not separate - just two different parts of the same whole. Mastery of the swords means learning to treat them as one, just as Zuko needs to learn to integrate the broken, contradictory parts of himself to become whole again.
Then comes the test of his courage, as Li’s mother pleads with Zuko to save her son. And he does immediately, without question into a fight where the odds are not in his favour. Because even if they are the enemies, family is sacred, and it feels the right thing to do - to protect them.
And as Zuko fights, it becomes clear that the ronin is not strong enough alone, he needs all parts of himself to win, he needs to accept his full identity (“Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne”).
It’s an important moment, because even if technically he’s disowned and banished - it’s a step to understanding that he doesn’t have to be defined by others, only he can decide truly who he is. Yet, revealing who he is (a firebender), closes him off from belonging. The Earth Kingdom doesn’t want him, they don’t judge him on his heart, character or action, solely on the basis of the clan he belongs to. Even the bond with the boy is broken. Zuko’s services are not wanted, his offer of friendship, his act of sacrifice is thrown back in his face.
The closing scene always sends shivers down my spine - because it doesn’t matter if Zuko does the right thing by all measures, he’s still treated like a villain, driven out of the village he saved with pitchforks and hostile glances. And the fact that he doesn’t respond to this hate with more hatred is really a proof of the strength of his character that’s often overlooked.
He has no other choice, but to find his own path. To find a way to reconcile all the broken pieces, to navigate his honour and loyalty through all the contradictions. In the end, his redemption journey starts when he figures out how to be loyal to the Fire Nation, yet protect the Earth Kingdom, how to earn his own honour through doing what right instead of earning it through loyalty to his father. There is a lot of foreshadowing: Remembering eventually who he is and not who his father wants him to be saves him. Teaching and protecting a boy, finding another family is his path. But so is embracing his fire and his role and duty as prince of the Fire Nation.
Zuko can only win when he becomes his own master.
And if someone doesn’t understand why it was so hard, why Zuko’s redemption story is so powerful, it’s because they haven’t watched Zuko Alone enough times.
