I feel like when Zuko finally catches up with the Gaang in The Worst Prisoner Book 3, they'll tackle him into a dog pile as soon as he says "Hello, Zuko here." 😄
Wow, brain share!
And I mean, we all understand the urge, am I right? Who doesn't want to cuddle that dork when he says "Hello, Zuko here".
I have some rambly thoughts about this chapter and Azula’s motivations.
Book 1 was all about water and change and how the Gaang and Zuko changed as a result of their much earlier interaction. Book 2’s element was Earth. Earth normally represents stability, however book 2 was the most turbulent and drama filled out of all three seasons IMO. (Book 3 has so many great moments, but so much inconsistency and regrettable writing choices and filler episodes. I think Book 2 was actually one of the most tightly written and intricate plots I’ve seen.) Stability was never going to come from their situation, but from each other. The Gaang have created a steadfast support for each other because I love the found family trope so much.
This chapter focused on Azula and her motivations. Azula is a tricky character because she lies so much, even to herself. She has many justifications for wanting Zuko to come back home. In my head-canon, the heart of it was that she missed him – but being Azula, she’s not just about to come out and say that.
I think Azula genuine cared for Zuko and Ty Lee and Mai. She shows it more towards Zuko and Ty Lee because both she and Mai aren’t affectionate personality-wise. She tries to keep all three of them close to her even though their mission is finished and the other two girls could have gone back to their normal lives.
But Azula is all about control. Because she never learned how to build healthy relationships she does everything she can to control the three of them. Her rapid descent after all three of them leave her shows how crucial control over them was to her self-identity.
Azula thinks control and fear function the same way as love. Control and fear can be used as a substitute for love. It’s why she over-reacts when Zuko tiredly talks about committing treason and accepts what he assumes will be his fate. That is not the outcome Azula wanted or expected, so she lashes out violently. But there is a kernel of concern for him at the bottom of it all. Zuko can’t go back to the Fire Nation saying things like that, so Azula will make him do things her way. She would also feel much more possessive of him, knowing that some other group of kids wanted to take ‘her’ brother away, and so she feels a much stronger impulse to control him.
Thinking about it logically, the reason she stated in canon for wanting Zuko home, to use him as a human shield against their dad, doesn’t have to change that much in this story even despite Zuko’s super-mega-treason habit. If anything, Zuko’s habit of making a spectacle of himself could easily play into her hands. Azula is a shrewd thinker and sees the bigger picture. When she’s on top of her game, she always had back-up plans and covered all her angles. She feels confident that she killed Aang, but not confident in declaring so... just in case.
I also think she was genuinely loyal to the Fire Nation cause beyond her own self-glorification. Despite her nature, most of Azula’s plans are actually bloodless, or require very little bloodshed (until her breakdown). She doesn’t waste resources and opportunities and people wily-nily. She wouldn’t see the sense in wasting resources looking for the Avatar if she knows he’s dead, just to cover her own butt. So she needs a fall-guy, just in case. Zuko is also the perfect lightning rod for their father’s erratic behaviour and intensity. Azula, even as the favourite, wouldn’t have enjoyed being an only child as much as she thought she would. So bringing Zuko home still serves the same original two functions as it did in canon.
This is the end of book 2. I hope you all enjoyed it and thank you all for reading this crazy adventure. Book three will pick up in the same place as canon: the awakening!
