How Sokka Became the Leader of Team Avatar

perseverance Innovation humility self-sacrifice these are the traits that Define a great leader and these are the traits that Define Saka well eventually one of the most emotionally satisfying experiences when it comes to movies and TV is watching characters learn and grow becoming attached to them as their stories unfold and their arcs progress meaningful development lets us Journey with the characters and invites us to take part in their Adventure there's nothing quite like seeing weakness become strength timidity change to confidence and pride evolve into humility this is especially true in fantasy a genre Rife with examples of the heights to which human beings should Aspire we witness the faith of Luke Skywalker the self-sacrificial love of Sam gamji and the fatherly wisdom of iro and are inspired to be better than we are whether or not their Journeys are explicitly laid out on screen or on paper these and all heroic characters had to suffer and struggle but before reaching their potential making them relatable as well as inspiring endearing them to the audience we may not even have liked some of our favorite characters at first but were transfixed by their development and growth as their arcs progressed so it is with Saka who by the end of avatar The Last Airbender is confident assertive courageous humble selfless and hardly recognizable as the kid we met at the South Pole at the beginning of the show let's dive into saka's character Arc and examine how the creators of avatar brilliantly crafted it to develop Saka into a mature Noble leader in a manner that other stories would be wise to use as a blueprint when we first meet Saka he is distrusting impulsive and rather misogynistic yes thank you while all those traits are undesirable they work excellently for saka's character for two reasons first they give him Room to Grow they show us flaws that he will eventually and gradually conquer in a fulfilling manner second they reflect his age and his situation in life Saka is after all only 16 and yet he Bears the weight of being the tribe's patriarch and has assumed the mantle of its protector his job is to keep his people safe from external threats hence his natural predisposition against trusting Aang in the first episode saka's position also forces him to make decisions in the event of a threat but his immaturity and inexperience cause him to impulsively act on Instinct rather than carefully weigh his options likewise the sexism he displays is due to his a being a teenage boy and B living in a society where all the men have gone off to war saka's various flaws and vices are not pulled from thin air he suffers from them due to where he he lives his culture and his family it is no wonder that a young man whose father has been absent due to the war and who can barely remember his mother's face is so reckless suspicious and close-minded his worldview simply wasn't given a chance to expand until Aang showed up Saka didn't even realize that water bending could be a martial art and he'd never met a Female warrior before landing on kiyoshi it is on that island that Saka begins to show us that he is capable of humility of acknowledging that he was wrong in his beliefs that he needs to learn to be a warrior regardless of his teacher's gender his humiliation at tsuki's hands is not mockery for its own sake but rather serves as a turning point for soccer's attitude in humbly swallowing his pride he displays growth humility is not having a lowly opinion of oneself but rather having accurate knowledge of one's strengths flaws in place in the world Saka goes from proudly proclaiming that he is the best warrior in his village to admitting that he knows very little but is willing to be taught and he even demonstrates some natural instinct in the martial arts to be teachable though it helps to be perseverant and that is one virtue that Saka maintains throughout the show like all potentially positive traits however perseverance is only a virtue when it is properly ordered if Saka had insisted on his status as a warrior despite the fact that he is inexperienced and unproven that would technically be perseverance but to an extreme level that one might rightly call pigh-headedness instead saka's newly found humility rightly orders his perseverance enabling him to train purposefully and with dedication under Suki's guidance this combination of modesty and resolve endears him to Suki when Saka admits his own mistakes and shortcomings with genuine honesty it prompts Suki to open up to him as well I am a warrior but I'm a girl to 2. there's a simple beauty in seeing two people form a bond through honesty humility and open-mindedness those same traits prove crucial in saka's second training to be a warrior episode saka's master an episode that in addition to greatly building saka's character also establishes his necessity to the rest of the team as they idle aimlessly without him when Saka is introduced to Pian Dao the swordmaster assumes he is going to hear a version of the speech that Saka earlier gave the kiyoshi Warriors pyandau expects a self-important sales pitch that he's heard a thousand times instead Saka tells him I'm not sure that I am worthy and I have a lot to learn as with Suki the key to forging this relationship was honesty and humility not boldness and posturing that same humility that accurate recognition of who he is and what he is and is not capable of enables Saka to take the lessons he receives from piano and incorporate them into his own unique style of self-expression ESPN downloads it is not saka's skill with a sword that is his greatest asset but rather his ability to think creatively and innovate any viewer of avatar The Last Airbender will know Saka as the idea guy as well as the mutant sarcasm guy Saka certainly never lacks in the creative thinking Department maybe Disney should hire him to write third acts of their Marvel movies putting aside Jabs at our corporate overlords saka's Ingenuity is displayed early on in imprisoned with his earth-bending style plot to get Katara arrested and then rescue the captured earthbenders we see his creativity yet again in the Northern Air Temple as he solves both the gas leak problem with the rotten eggs and literally puts a lid on the hot air enabling the introduction of the Northern Air Temple Air Force that's great and all master Samwise but how exactly do these examples tie into saka's development as a leader it seems like being creative and innovative is just a flat out good thing well yes but again creativity is a trait that needs to be wielded properly it is not enough to merely have an idea or a plan a leader must be flexible willing to adjust or even abandon plans if necessary and more importantly must be cognizant of the effects on the followers of said plans to illustrate this let's take a look at the drill saka's initial plan to cut through a brace of the fire nation's machine in order to disable it doesn't work out quite as planned but he stubbornly attempts to manually shove the gigantic chunk of metal out of position it is Aang who comes up with the idea to Simply weaken the braces and deliver a fatal Blow from the top of the drill to sako's credit he does readily accept this change to his plan displaying some of that humility he developed earlier in the show shortly thereafter Saka comes up with yet another idea this time for a Katara to plug up the drill with the slurry it was leaving in its wake once again a good idea which does in fact work quite well however saka's attitude toward his sister who is once again having to do all the work leaves a little something to be desired just bend the slurry woman doesn't exactly scream compassion a good leader must care for his followers leading is not merely knowing what to do it is a comprehensive understanding of what needs to be done how each member can contribute toward that goal and what the cost to that member will be truly good leaders are not bosses but rather our servants they see to the needs of those following them with compassion they know how far is too far and how hard is too hard an effective leader is not always a good leader Captain Sobel was an effective leader until he wasn't major Winters was a good leader if you thought I wouldn't sneak a Band of Brothers reference into an Avatar video you don't know me half as well as I should like we get significant payoffs for soccer's growth as a leader in the day of black sun and boiling Rock the invasion of the Fire Nation is essentially saka's magnum opus of ideas a culmination of his plans and innovations that began in the library as his persistent attitude drove him to discover the meaning behind The Darkest Day in Fire Nation history The Invasion force is one he assembled the plan of attack that will lead them to Victory is a product of his own mind so naturally he stutters stumbles and generally makes an ass of himself when presenting the plan to his team but liking tellsaka that's just public speaking his Moment of Truth will not be on a stage but on the battlefield good leaders lead from the front they are not defined by their ability to inspire their followers though that certainly is a bonus but it is what they do when the hammer meets the Anvil that really counts think of how much less impactful theoden's speech would have been if he had then let his writers pass him and buy is they charged the masked armies of Mordor but of course he doesn't he rides at the front rides ahead of the rohiram at a pace so Fierce none of his hosts can match it that was theoda's Moment of Truth saka's Moment of Truth or at least one of them does indeed happen during The Invasion but not as he had likely envisioned it as hakoda's wound the fire nation's Fierce resistance and most crucially the fire Lord's absence pushed the invasion force and saka's planning to their limits Saka has to make a tough call do they abandon the fight and save as many lives as they can or do they persist continuing to hope to win the day in this crucial moment Saka demonstrates caring leadership by deferring to Aang the person on Whose shoulders the burden rests heaviest Saka does not ask of anyone anything they do not freely give but instead gives them the opportunity to fight and to win when that Victory doesn't matter serialize we get a payoff for the development of saka's adaptability as he makes the call to retreat he and Toff convincing Aang that now is not the time that the element of surprise they had counted on had been turned against them persistence is only virtuous to a point if Saka had insisted on pressing the attack when every Advantage was gone even if that meant simply agreeing with Aang's plan to face ozai at full power that would have been stubborn Folly however saka's flexibility only takes him so far as he insists that as his submarines are destroyed their only option is to stand and fight and he has to be convinced by hakoda to flee to safety even with all the experience Saka has gained he still has a thing or two to learn from his father thankfully the story doesn't end there Saka intends to make good on his promise to his father that we won't be apart for long this time and heads to The Boiling rock with Zuko to rescue hokota but instead he finds Suki and figures eh good enough seriously though how cute are these two second best couple in the show after Zuko and his honor Saka and Suki's relationship actually highlights another area of growth for Saka his compulsive need to protect those he loves and his self-blame after the loss of UA which was not his fault and he could not have prevented and possibly due to a deep-seated guilt over the loss of his mother Saka is overly protective of Suki when they reunite outside bossing say he knows Suki is a competent capable Warrior yet all he can see is the girl he loves once again being put In Harm's Way and he reacts accordingly of course saka's natural protective instincts are not only commendable but are necessary for any good leader he needs to care for the safety of those he leads but not to the point that he doesn't recognize their agency and ability to help themselves as with any virtue Saka needs to find the healthy golden mean this will get paid off later though let's return to the prison what ensues of the boiling rock is a conflict between adaptability and persistence Saka is willing to change plans and escape with Suki and a few Tagalongs he expresses his regret for having persisted during The Invasion how if he had cut their losses this whole mess could have been avoided it takes Zuko saying you have to try every time you can't quit because you're afraid you might fail to convince Saka to keep alive his hopes for hokota's rescue whatsaka lacked was balance and wisdom his adaptability and persistence should not conflict with each other but rather one should help balance the other knowing when to change plans and when to stay the course requires a thorough understanding of a given situation and of its potential good and bad outcomes of all the virtues wisdom is the most difficult to cultivate because it requires significant experience and because it is tied into every other virtue knowing how to properly use your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses requires right judgment that can only be acquired through repeated failure saka's perseverance and Innovative nature were present at the start of the show and he had learned adaptability humility patience and compassion in relatively short amounts of time but he struggled to exercise size those traits consistently and at the right moments showing his need to grow in wisdom even past the halfway point of the final book of the show in refusing at Zuko's insistence to leave the prison without his father Saka demonstrated persistence by concocting a second Escape Plan he showed flexibility but while the prison break out of boiling rock is a big moment for Saka the real payoff for his character development as leader comes in the finale after iro has counseled Zuko on the prince's Destiny Saka turns to the general and asks what's our destiny today he recognizes iro's hard-won wisdom and seeks guidance but iro turns the tables and asks Saka what do you think it is iro may not know Saka all that well but he recognizes his leadership and Empower Saka to choose the course for himself and his friends five seconds before Ira was guiding Zuko through the coming battle and change in power but he defers to saka's decision making trusting the Young Water Tribe Warriors ability to see the big picture and his place within it this not only displays iro's humility and wisdom but also that Saka has reached his Apex as a leader this will be his true defining moment and oh what a moment it is the Airship Battle gives us everything we could have ever wanted out of Saka his Ingenuity produces the famous Airship slice in the birthday bomb Bombay plan he humbly takes a back seat while Toph wipes the floor with the Airship Bridge crew when he and suhi are separated Saka perseveres and turns his Focus to finishing the mission paying off his development as he struggled with his perceived failure when UA turned into the moon however none of those moments are quite so impactful as those when we see Saka being a true servant leader after he sets the Airship on a collision course Saka is the last one up the ladder towards safety when debris begins to rain down around them he jumps on top of Toth shielding her body with his own he doesn't just continue to innovate by instructing Toft metal Ben the rudder he shows appreciation by complimenting her invention of metal bending and finally he clings to Top's hand as they dangle hundreds of feet in the air his encouragement met with her III Captain those three words of Toff illustrate one simple fact she trusts Saka their months of traveling and fighting together and saka's growth through his repeated struggles and failures have combined to produce a relationship where Toth the most independent and self-reliant member of the group totally entrusts her well-being to Saka because he has earned it Saka was from the beginning a determined to protector an idea guy who could see the big picture and who genuinely cared about those close to him he was also short-sighted suspicious sexist and was lacking in the wisdom and compassion departments while his faults obviously weren't desirable they were understandable considering his situation in life and were also necessary for saka's growth as wonderful as it is to see Paragons of virtue such as iro who have little if any character development during the show it is arguably better to witness characters who share our vices and shortcomings but work to overcome them even if or maybe especially if they consistently stumble throughout their Arc by the finale of the show Saka is a decisive creative adaptable leader who not only knows the mission and his place in it but also understands the role of the other members of his team and trusts them to act as needed while simultaneously caring for their well-being and putting it above his his own his incredibly gratifying transformation happens gradually and requires him to seek and receive help and advice from so many others no one leads in a vacuum saka's fulfillment as a leader came about as he learned to properly relate to to care for trust and courage and love those whom he would lead well those are all my thoughts on the matter at hand there is certainly more that could be said about Saka but that's what I've got for now let me know your thoughts on sakus Arc as a leader down below hit subscribe for more character analysis and another video essays whatever other nerd stuff I decide to talk about and I will see you in the next one thank you for watching

Channel: Master Samwise

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Id: TQS8SC3T764

Length: 18min 29sec (1109 seconds)

Published: Thu May 25 2023