Why Zuko's Redemption Arc is Peak Character Development

when one thinks of Zuko the words emotional maturity are not the first to come to mind rather terms like shame rage stubbornness and foolhardiness are what we typically associate with our favorite angsty Prince this is fair as all these words accurately describe him throughout a large portion of the show how then does the angry jerk become one of the most well-balanced and emotionally insightful members of Team Avatar well not quickly people take time to change and grow Zuko struggles mightily with the aforementioned vices and makes painstakingly slow incremental progress as his path to Redemption is hindered by the stumbling blocks of his own inner demons that is why Zuko is one of the best examples of a Redemption Arc and character development in general virtue takes time to flourish so let's break down just how that happens for Zuko burned and banished by his father Zuko is driven by an overwhelming sense of Shame as any Avatar fan can tell you Zuko's self-proclaimed goal in book 1 and 2 is to capture the Avatar and regain my honor Zuko's honor is of course dependent on his father's love and acceptance not that ozai ever really loved either of his children approval would be a more appropriate word Zuko intends to prove to his father that he is worthy of his respect and finally restore his dignity Zuko's shame drives him to relentlessly search for the Avatar and pursue Aang across the world it prevents him from finding peace within himself and thus from mastering lightning in bitter work azuko fails repeatedly Ira States you must let go of your feelings of Shame if you want your anger to go away Zuko protests but I don't feel any shame at all I'm as proud as ever Ira then drops one of his greatest nuggets of wisdom pride is not the opposite of a shame but its source true humility is the only antidote to shame if if we are ashamed that means that we do not accept our own weaknesses and failings that we do not want others to recognize them that we haven't forgiven ourselves for what we've done wrong humility allows us to accept our whole self but not in the I'm fine just the way I am manner rather the truly humble person accurately acknowledges his strengths and weaknesses his place in the world and is able to learn from his failures because he does not allow Pride to get in the way of growth Zuko struggles with learning true humility throughout book two as he is torn between continuing his mission to capture Aang and finding a life of Peace in the earth Kingdom with his uncle ultimately in Crossroads of Destiny Zuko allows his need to redeem himself in the eyes of his father the source of his shame to stop him from accepting his new life and choosing the good this is a crucial moment for Zuko but even more so it's an incredibly important point for why his character development is so wonderful Zuko's betrayal of iro shows us that Journey is toward Redemption are not smooth a character Arc need not progress without interruption or deviation toward the character's end State despite everything Zuko has seen since he cut off his ponytail despite the joy he has found in the simple life he built with his uncle embossing say despite growing into a more mature and gentle man his wounded pride and the chance to heal it proved too great a challenge in that one moment we do not become better people with a straight uninterrupted climb up the mountain of virtue our vices drag us back down we choose an efficient or ineffective routes we have to backtrack and try again and sometimes we reach what we believe to be our goal only to find out that it isn't what we wanted at all this is Zuko's experience Upon returning home far from being rid of his shame Zuko finds it intensified acting as the perfect Prince and being accepted by his father do not remove his shame which is now compounded through his betrayal of iro as a result Zuko remains angry but now he finds no target for that anger other than himself he has been granted everything he thought he wanted in life and yet happiness and peace elude him by finally admitting that I'm angry at myself suko begins to demonstrate humility for the first time he acknowledges that his rage and bitterness are his own fault the result of his inner turmoil and conflict not because his father and sister have it out for him by confronting these inner demons learning about his Heritage and reflecting on his life among the courageous tenacious people of the earth Kingdom Zuko opens the door to genuine humility to acknowledging his own place in the world when he announces to ozai his intention to defect his father tries to go Zuko into a fight but the prince who has a history of fighting anyone and everyone refuses I know my own destiny taking you down is the Avatar's destiny Zuko's journey of humility isn't done yet though it's one thing to admit to yourself that you were wrong it's quite another to seek forgiveness from the very people you harassed and pursued across the continents when Zuko attempts to apologize to the group at the Western Air Temple he takes things a step too far and offers himself as a prisoner that isn't really true humility on his part he's belittling himself in the hope that it will get him near Ang so he can teach him firebending and it doesn't work in any case speaking of not working Zuko having to relearn how to fire bench certainly is a hit to his pride he may be well on his way to Redemption by this point but the Angry Young Prince is still well an Angry Young Prince having to accept that his power has left him that he will need to seek a new source for his bending is something earlier Zuko could never have done book 3 Zuko still struggles with the process but he has learned by this point that he truly knows very little and his relatively new maturity allows him to adapt to learn to grow o to become a Firebender unlike any other in his Nation however Zuko is not so conceded as to think that that makes him any stronger more powerful or more skilled he is enlightened yes but he is also grounded he is still the boy who has struggled and fought for every inch of skill when the time to face Azula approaches Zuko admits he cannot defeat her alone can you imagine book 2 Zuko saying such a thing Preposterous absurd inconceivable but the pride the shame and the fear of failure that dominated Zuko psyche are gone replaced by humility and self-awareness that allows Zuko to accept katara's help in defeating Azula now is his eventual insistence that he take Azula alone a step backwards no azuko says there's something off about her and this way no one else has to get hurt Zuko isn't thinking of himself of the glory he would win by defeating Azula he is thinking of katara's well-being placing her out of Harm's Way Azula being off does not just mean she's lost a step and thus zuku can defeat her it means she is unhinged and unpredictable and thus more of a danger to Katara who is far less familiar with the princess than is her brother in a way this is actually one of Zuko's humblest moments the moment in which he is most aware of himself and his duty to be humble do not think less of yourself think of yourself less that is be mindful first and foremost of the needs of others Zuko absolutely could have stayed the course and let Katara join the fight as planned but he is primarily concerned for her and so places himself In Harm's Way and this agnikai is a beautiful demonstration of how the two siblings have swapped places as Zuko evolved and Azula decayed Zuko is now collected calculated and seems to be fighting almost effortlessly while Azula is frantic needlessly aggressive and visibly exhausted by their duel as she realizes that her defeat is imminent azula's Pride kicks in she imagines the shame that losing would bring and thus she cheats Azula has become the worst of Zuko blinded by rage grasping at a power that leaves her unsatisfied while Zuko has achieved azula's calm and self-assuredness but backed up by genuine love and humility things weren't always that way of course throughout much of the show Zuko's anger was his most visible Vice he literally steams with rage and at least one occasion I don't think I really need to talk too much more about this you've watched the show you know that Zuko is a hothead his ill-temper does have a cause mind you Zuko certainly has his reasons you know like the giant scar on his face for being so angry his rage stems from his shame from being mistreated and cast out and then after his return from his inner turmoil and lack of clarity here's the thing about anger though it's not inherently a vice anger can be a weapon if you control it use it you clearly cannot there is such a thing as righteous anger however such anger exists in the middle in the mean between unhinged rage and being a doormat Zuko Falls squarely on the rage end of the spectrum from most of the show he allows his anger to dictate his decisions and cause him to act rashly it is not a weapon in his Arsenal to be deployed when needed it is a driving force that is constantly pushing him to make poor choices Zuko allows his anger to dominate him so basically he's like 99 of Twitter users the prince acts on Instinct without thinking with unbridled aggression note that Zuko's actions are what really matter we largely cannot help how we feel but we can choose whether or not to act on those feelings that choice is where virtue lies early on and then again after betraying iro Zuko is prone to lashing out in anger rather than pausing to gather himself and judge the situation before acting as we see iro do for example in the winter solstice iro is an example of fully mature righteous anger but as Zuko Journeys along his path of maturity we can see that it is not a smooth ride there are moments such as in Zuko alone where he is able to harness his anger appropriately maintaining control while still utilizing his inner fire if not his external fire in fact the Outburst that eventually led to Zuko's banishment was an instant of somewhat righteous anger in condemning the General's plan to use fresh troops as bait Zuko was absolutely Justified as iro notes in the storm however the prince lashes out instead of letting that fire simmer within him letting it drive him to consider the righteousness of his own Nation it's hard to fault a 13 year old boy for such a failure of control though this moment serves as a beautiful highlight of how zuka will have to mature it demonstrates that he has a higher sense of moral duty than do the leaders of the Fire Nation but that he lacks the prudence and self-control to properly direct his anger this scene is parallel masterfully in the war meeting that occurs during nightmares and Daydreams though horrified at his father and sister's plan to torch the entire Earth Kingdom Zuko does not immediately fly off the handle and protest the genocidal proposal instead he allows that anger to drive him to make The Prudent upright choice to Desert the Fire Nation at the opportune moment to abandon the position he had coveted for so long however it is worth noting that even at this point in the show Zuko hasn't quite mastered righteous anger he seems to be just fine with the idea of Katara murdering Yan raw in Revenge for Kaya's murder and he lashes out at the perceived laziness of the gang when they unbeknownst to him have decided to let sozen's Comet pass by before going after ozai in both cases you could make the argument that Zuko or Katara is Justified does Yan ra deserve death yeah probably does team Avatar need to get back to training absolutely the problem is that Zuko doesn't take a lot of time to think about the issue at hand he is prone to acting based on emotion and even though his heart is in the right place he isn't perfectly consistent with using his head to guide it again character arcs are bumpy rides even after all this time Zuko is still learning still growing his journey to maturity cannot be contained within three books and that's beautiful even when a character has flaws they have to overcome if they manage to achieve Perfection by the end of the show it's less satisfying less relatable than if they are better but not fully whole we are all broken and we will be all our lives what matters is that we like Zuko never stop trying to be better than we were yesterday Zuko certainly did not have to learn at least during the show how to keep trying his three-year single-minded search for the Avatar is proof positive that the Young Prince is incredibly dedicated and perseverant and while perseverance is a trait to be praised Zuko takes it to an extreme straying into the vice of stubbornness what does it mean to be stubborn in short it means to persist even when prudence and wisdom dictate that we should not Zuko stubbornly drags his uncle and crew across the known world looking for the Avatar regardless of their own desires or even well-being his obstinacy like his anger derives from his shame from his unrelenting desire to return home at any cost however that may not be the only source in a flashback Ursa tells her son that's who you are Zuko someone who keeps fighting even though it's hard we know how close Zuko and his mother were how much she cared for him and thus how much he in turn loved and respected her if your beloved parent who was taken from you far too early in life told you that you are essentially defined by perseverance wouldn't you be prone to take that trait to its extreme end Zuko's perseverance becomes stubbornness because he fails to properly weigh risks and benefits to assess the danger not only to others but to himself his drive to capture the Avatar no matter the cost pulls him away from iro early in book two wounding the only loving relationship in Zuko's life setting up his later betrayal in bossing say his obstinacy is further highlighted in better work as sick of failing over and over he takes his dedication to learning how to redirect lightning to a ridiculous level in Crossroads of Destiny his stubborn clinging to his old life severs him from iro and from the path that they had been walking the past weeks it is admirable to have a goal and strive for it despite obstacles and difficulties but fanatically pursuing that objective not caring what we have to sacrifice to get it is condemnable we need to prudently determine what battles are and are not worth fighting trust me on this my kids are picky eaters every dinner is an exercise I'm choosing what battle to fight anyhow back to Zuko one benefit of his stubbornness is that he learned how to deal with failure even our faults and vices can bring forth good and Zuko's certainly do the prince learns to take no for an answer at the Western Air Temple where his initial attempt to join the group is rebuffed however he still remains persistent he has judged that his help is necessary but he has to take a step back and rethink his approach before trying again that is perseverance properly tempered by patience in boiling Rock Zuko shows wisdom and understanding as Saka attempts to set out with his hastily conceived plan to infiltrate the Fire Nation prison Zuko recognizes that Saka is in over his head but also that he cannot be stopped he sees his own dedication and determination in Saka so he agrees to go along Zuko's words to Saka you have to try every time you can't quit because you're afraid you might fail do have a hint of stubbornness to them again we rarely if ever fully outgrow our own flaws but in this instance Zuko and soccer are already committed already in the heart of the boiling Rock the additional risk incurred by staying and waiting to see if hakota shows up is comparatively minimal and the potential reward is significant even though zuku's advice may be a bit too absolute it was exactly what Saka needed to hear right then that is to say the situation matters Zuko may still tend towards stubbornness even by the end of the show but he clearly demonstrates significant growth as he learns to deploy his unrelenting perseverance only when he judges necessary again this is a wonderful example of gradual character development gradual progress that still leaves room for future growth as is appropriate for a character of Zuko's age and experience Zuko may be wiser and more patient but he is still at times prone to persisting a bit more than may be prudent in a similar vein Zuko tends to act in a rather full heart manner this Vice the extreme positive end of the virtue of Courage is largely derived from Zuko's stubbornness the prince's unmitigated all-consuming desire to achieve his goal and regain his honor emboldens him causing him to reject dangers as unimportant he refuses to let fear dictate his actions and that's how he ends up fighting in multiple Agony Kai's running a fire nation blockade and freezing to death at the North Pole with the captured Avatar courage is good and necessary but so is fear the courageous man feels fear and does not let it control him but nonetheless respects it and listens to it if we are prudent we should ask ourselves what if before taking a course of action and if the only answer we can provide is so what who cares then we are being foolhardy so how does Zuko learn to temper his Reckless nature simple he learns to direct his courage with wisdom to have it serve something other than his own Pride he begins to think of others he finds a cause greater than himself to stay and fight ozai on the day of black Sun would not only have been prideful taking on the fire lord in his own Chambers would be foolhardy Zuko showed Courage by choosing to face his father but tempered that courage with proper judgment and humility rather than recklessly attacking his choice to join Saka on a seemingly impossible mission shows that Zuko is no longer only thinking of himself in his own desires he is now able to use his natural bravery in the service of others by and large Vice is self-serving and virtues are other serving this is often nearly always in Zuko's case due to the fact that the one Vice underlying all the others is pride it is pride that causes us to act rashly to pursue a goal far longer than is prudent to lash out when offended or frustrated to let our shame get in the way of our growth pride in this instance does not mean simple satisfaction or acknowledgment of One's Own goodness but rather the stubborn unrelenting idea that we should get what we want that we know what is best for us that we can achieve anything we desire pride is at its heart selfishness it's no wonder then that azuko matures and enters into genuine relationship with the other members of the group the story has him undertake an adventure with almost every member of the Gang Zuko has spent two and a half books pursuing his own desires and when the emotional Clarity that he sought from attaining that goal still eluded him he now finds it by putting aside his sense of self-importance and seeking to help others defeat their own inner demons and heal from their wounds and as befitting of his character he also continues to grow and mature first with Aang Zuko is forced to come to terms with his Spider-Man 2 moment with the fact that the fundamental change he has undergone has robbed him of his source of power this is a necessary lesson not just for Zuko but for his student as well Aang had previously sworn off fire bending after burning Katara and rage powered Zuko would not be the most effective teacher for the peace loving Avatar they both have to accept that they were wrong before that their previously held views of firebending and fire itself were incomplete fire is not just destruction fire is life to book one Zuko fire was simply a weapon he could wield to achieve his goals to book one Aang fire was the cause of the massacre of all his kind and yet fire banishes Darkness warms the body and most importantly Heats tea there is far more to it than explosive power without the humility he gained throughout the first two and a half books Zuko could never have admitted that and would have been stuck impotently and stubbornly trying to firebend the way he'd always known but isn't Zuko stubborn in boiling rock you have to try every time he tells Saka well there's a qualitative difference between their situation and Zuko situations prior to joining the gang Zuko is at the prison for the sake of another it is one thing to stubbornly insist that others sacrifice their time and perhaps their very lives in pursuit of your good it is quite another to put yourself at risk in the service of others again Feist is largely selfish and virtue selfless Zuko has learned that his persistence needs to be properly directed and tempered but still retains it as a core part of his philosophy and one which Saka who is not used to failure here needs to share as I've said before Zuko is not perfectly mature even now so maybe there's an argument to be made that he's being somewhat imprudent but the selfless nature of his actions make any such imprudence far less condemnable we see this in southern Raiders azuku doesn't take the Hardline stance against Revenge that Aang endorses instead he accompanies Katara on her journey aiding her not hindering her no doubt his own wounds from losing his mother and maybe the clarity he gained from the conversation with ozai that the show declined to give us impelled him to support Katara instead of urging Katara to choose Mercy Zuko is simply there for her as his uncle was for him as he made mistake after mistake furthermore he provides an example of how people can change how our Judgment of them is not perfect or permanent in demonstrating his own capacity for Redemption perhaps he plays a small role in katara's choice to spare yanra's life and finally Zuko's greatest moment of maturity comes as he joins tough for her turn at a life changing field trip or not I'll never forgive the show for depriving me of those two having their own episode but that is about the only flaw in Avatar when it comes to Zuko the Fire Nation Prince serves as a master class on how to develop a character Zuko's choppy frustrating Journey from Vice into virtue is only possible because it happens gradually with back steps and speed bumps along the way and because it does not happen in a vacuum it is not simply an arc that ends in self-fulfillment book one Zuko believes that he is the hero of his story that his will is what matters most by the midpoint in book 3 after receiving all the advice and wisdom his uncle had to offer Zuko admits that he is not the hero of this story but that he will do whatever he can to help the Avatar fulfill his destiny how do we grow in virtue we learn to live not for ourselves but for those who need us Those whom we love that is Zuko's character Arc in a nutshell and that is why it is so incredible meaningful and timeless that's the end of the video thanks for watching and I'll see you next time

Channel: Master Samwise

Views: 288,333

Keywords: avatarthelastairbender, ATLA, Zuko

Id: fOe8aEqoN_M

Length: 22min 36sec (1356 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 22 2023