Azula The Final Boss: Why Netflix's Avatar Depends On Her

water Earth fire air long ago the greatest villain of all time reigned in harmony then everything changed when Manic Panic ATT only the Redemption Arc master of all character Evolution can stop this but when the world needed it most oh let's be real we don't need that my name is Christopher Valentine and I talk about the things that interest me and today it's the baddest megalomaniac who's ever graced our screens if you hesitate I will not hesitate to bring you down dismissed and she was only 14 sugar spice and the fear for your life I'm talking about the one and only princess aula of the Fire Nation maybe you should worry less about the tides who've already made up their mind about killing you worry more about me he's still mulling it over I'll pull us in for those crushed by the weight of the rock that they live under princess aula was the main protagonist for two seasons of the greatest show of all time avatar the Last air bender in this series people can manipulate one of the traditional four elements through martial arts inspired combat called bending their cultures are divided by these Elemental associations as well and at the time of the series The Air Benders were wiped out by the imperialist firebenders genocide in a kids show how novel don't get caught up on the kids thing though because as you can see the Thematic content was more than up to Snuff for the oldies back to that genocide the one Airbender who survived by staying Frozen in an iceberg for 100 years happened to also be the Avatar go figure I'm talking about the one person in this fantasy who can bend all four elements and who maintains Harmony between all the nations as a human in AR nation of an international airport no really the kick can fly his name is ang not on and after being discovered by his new friends siblings Qatar and Saka in the southern water tribe he gets caught up on the lical hundred-year imperialist movement of the Fire Nation and the loss of his people yikes soon he comes to grips with the fact that his identity is to stop a psychopathic warlord from taking over the world see world domination total kids animation Trope just with a Sprinkle of government corruption fascism brainwashing and serialized storytelling but you'll have to watch yourself for that there were three seasons of This Magnificent series and the first had a complex antagonist who was pitted against Ang in the gang his name was Prince Zuko to capture him to restore something I've lost my honor yes yes that's Zulu's brother he was sent on a dead in mission to find the Avatar by his father who hated him so much he permanently scarred his face by scorching it off himself good old family values that's what the kids are missing nowadays I tell you season 1 revolves around the personal and interpersonal conflicts of all the characters primarily anging Zuko while the fire nation's war against the world rages on but season 2 your brother Zuko is a fail I have a task for you well it also revolves around the same things but this time we get one of the most beloved characters ever Toof a blind earthbending master who becomes Ang's teacher and my favorite character ever princess Zula what I mean she's just a psycho maniacal imperialist War Machine Diva what's not to love big with teens girls lesbians the mentally ill the very sad but seriously I think azula's character is brilliant she's irredeemably bad and there's no excuses made for it sure her mother was a terrible parent to her while loving on her brother 24/7 her uncle saw her as a lost cause while doing everything in his power to save that same brother and her dad saw her as useless Beyond being a tool for World Supremacy but she was like really bad I mean if attempting to imprison your own family or threatening someone with murder to manipulate them into joining your War troop or seesing control of an entire country all in the name of colonization isn't bad enough there's also these vicious onliners what are you doing here you mean it's not obvious yet I about to celebrate becoming an only child de consider is you a miserable failure for not finding the Avatar why would he want you back home except to lock you up where you can no longer embarrass him don't you see what she's doing she's just playing with us she's not even trying to win this fight not true I'm giving it my all you're trying to keep us here and waste all our time um right I think your friend just said that genius and since you can't see I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes you've beaten me at my my own game don't flatter yourself you were never even a player oh and we got a girl Strat they should totally do St Barts next time the show is Sublime at allowing you to form your own conclusions about why aula is so evil without sympathizing with her or spoon feeding you the information this deaft version of Storytelling is what made avatar The Last Airbender Elite and it's also what made aula so magnetizing you were allowed to feel whatever you wanted about anyone because Nuance was embedded into the story this is why we all found aula so fascinating and even though I was always rooting against her and even feared her I also identified with her no no ma' whoa there hold on now I'm not a sociopathic War Machine [Music] what I related to about aula was her Relentless attitude laser focus dedicated craftsmanship tactical decisionmaking perfectionist complex and even her conviction of self although it turned out to be a false self my own achievement complex made aula a faulty pseudo role model of sorts plus that vocal performance by greay delile woo unmatched I find that aula functioned as one of the rare story devices where she challenged everyone around her in one way or another she was one of those rare villains who's actually better than the protagonist like more skilled also a better character for me but I'm talking about skill here I mean she killed the main character for goodness sake when does that happen let alone in a kid showell hm she posed a legitimate challenge that forced that Our Heroes to grow and they did that's exciting to watch as a viewer growth is gripping all of our heroes became more skilled because aula was so damn good Zuko became a better person because she made him confront his beliefs about right and wrong her presence added depth to The Limited emotional capacity of the adults around her she even functioned as a point of growth for her girl boss teammates who had to choose where the Line in the Sand was for their tag along to evil azula's own story arc was one for the books the downfall of a Villain at the hands of their own emotional hindrances and limitations we love a descent into madness done right [Music] honey azula's story even challenged the critical thinking of us as viewers why was this teenage girl so evil was it her true nature or was it the way that she was nurtured she had all the access and privilege in the world not to go off the deep end but maybe that in and of itself is why she did aula story also tells us a lot about the Dynamics of power and the pursuit of power power and control were the only ways Zula could find herself surrounded by people wouldn't you go Grazy if the world hated you this need for control came from her desire to be loved and this was the root of her perfectionism complex maybe just maybe if she was perfect she would be good enough to love but also she's crazy and she needs to go down perfectionism guarantees emotional destruction because perfection in humans doesn't exist avatar the Last air bender gave aoua as much of a complete story as its protagonist her bad guy Arc is perfect get it with one of the best villain introductions climaxes and conclusions in history avatar the Last air bender proved proved that bad guys could be evil and complex as the piece that made the puzzle exciting to watch come together as a viewer I salute princess azula's greatest hits or she'll incinerate me you mean you haven't guessed you don't see the family resemblance here's a hint I must find the Avatar to restore my honor it's okay you can laugh it's funny you can run but I'll catch you back Cula he's mine I'm not going [Music] anywhere up [Applause] [Music] o now hold on just St [Music] [Music] a yeah f she's not going to make it of course she did I know there's tons of people expecting a lot from the performance of Miss Elizabeth u in Netflix's Avatar as a Zula me included but please remember that if you don't like their adaptation you can just go back and watch the original I've never understood all the hoopla about remakes and adaptations as though they erased the original work and if Legacy is what concerns you just remember as long as Avatar stays with you it will live forever princess isula taught me about myself the world other people writing storytelling and she taught me how to get what I want from people so make sure that you like and subscribe or I will blow your head off with lightning thank you for watching thank you for listening and don't let anyone tell you that you can't dominate the Earth if you don't want to bye [Music] he

Channel: Christopher Valentine

Views: 2,080

Keywords: Azula, Princess, Avatar The Last Airbender, Netflix, ATLA, Live Action, Elizabeth Yu, Analyzing, Dissecting, Psychology, Character Study

Id: Suvk9fNYvSg

Length: 14min 8sec (848 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 23 2024