txchallas replied to your post: God my ass really can’t go into the zutara tag...
it’s just strange that this is the ship they latched onto? which i think is a good example of how folks really don’t get what it means to have a character who is remorse of their mistakes (zuko) and one who is just… well, a white boy who not cute!
Some of the shippers made connections in the first movie and equated Kyle to “Space Zuko” (not true then and ESPECIALLY not true now). And there's this weird cognitive dissonance - Kyle had his chance TWICE to redeem himself and failed. And the thing is: he wasn't manipulated into choosing the dark side! He CHOSE evil twice over his father, mother, uncle, AND his "one true love," Rey. No one is manipulating him now - no one is telling him to be this aggressive fascist ruler. Meanwhile, Zuko's sense of identity was completely tied to his father and sister's approval, and in a moment of weakness, he chose the restoration of his honor over the love of his Uncle. And, Zuko spends almost the rest of his screen time feeling like complete shit for his decision while Kyle hesitates for like, three seconds when he’s almost forced to kill his mom.
Zuko and Kyle are so narratively dissimilar and their similarities are so superficial it just completely boggles my mind that some people SEE Zuko in Kyle and think, actually THINK, the main cast will accept him with open arms after everything he has done. Not to mention Zuko never killed anyone and consciously atoned for his actions when he joined the Gaang. If Abrams makes the completely obnoxious choice to redeem Kyle, the likelihood of the audience seeing him atone for the murder of his father, for the attempted murder of Finn (the ACTUAL male lead of the trilogy), and the complete destruction of several planets is slim at best. His character arc and development are just not equatable to Zuko's at all, and his relationship dynamic and evolution with Rey is a far cry to what Zuko and Katara went through and experienced together. Add to the fact that Zuko was 16 when he broke away from his father's abuse and Kyle is fucking thirty and acting like the manchild tumblr repeatedly warns others to stay away from, and my mind just can't fathom why these people are so enthusiastic about their ship and this violent, objectively unattractive garbage man.
