Why Zuko's Redemption Arc is Peak Character Development

So I know I don't talk a lot about Zuko and Iroh's relationship in this video, and that's somewhat intentional. It would have made the video unbearably long, and honestly their relationship is worth a video all its own.

"Don't think less of yourself; think of yourself less." Words to live by.

The best redemption arc in tv/film.

For me, the most interesting thing about Zuko's arc is in his betrayal of Iroh. In most movies and tv shows, when a character betrays someone, they soon realize that this wasn't what they wanted or that they've lost the thing that was most important to them, or something cliche like that. But in Zuko's case, he gets everything he's ever wanted. His "honor", his father's respect, Mai's love. Everything goes back to normal. But Zuko has changed, and he realizes that this is no longer who he is. It really is the perfect character arc.

When I think of Zuko, the first thing that comes to mind is "My honor!"

Ok, "Fire banishes darkness, warms the body...and most importantly, heats tea" is the most accurate line 😂

Zukos betrayal of Iroh was one of those key moments that made this show a masterpiece for me. Any other show would have used all the buildup to make Zuko a good guy. But that moment showed how such a huge shift is NOT easy and how seeking forgiveness for that action is not so simple, in his redemption arc!

that moment when Zuko tells the sky "c'mon strike me, you always do" with heartburn's tears always hit hard

Toph never had a revelatory journey with Zuko because she had already learned what she needed, specifically that it's okay to rely on and ask for help from others, when she met Iroh. Great video, as always.

"Your honour was in my sleeve the whole time"

What comes to my mind when I hear Zuko... Pain. Trauma. Rage. Wounded pride. But also Growth. Humility. And Acceptance. One of the best written characters i have seen in a show in a long time, and I love how people are still coming back to analyze his character.

Zuko had the best Evil guy to Hero guy redemption arc in cartoon history.

He went from the most hated to the most loved character. And it felt like a natural progression! That's rare for a lot of media. <3

Zuko always believed his destiny was to capture the avatar, and restore his honor. He did exactly that - though not in the way he thought. He made friends with the Avatar. And he restored not only his honor, but the honor of the fire nation as a whole. The war began with the Avatar and his close friend/fire lord drifting away and becoming opposing forces. The war ended with the Avatar and the Fire Lord/close friend coming together and restoring balance to the world. This is phenomenal story writing. There are parallels EVERYWHERE.

Only now I see that zuko's hair really reflects his change, from a pointy, threatening style with lots of edges, to a round, whole hair that shows how complete he became

The fact that so many movies/tv shows nowadays are obsessed with not having a villain or "everyone being a good guy" in some form or "redeeming bad guys" but in a bad or unrealistic way makes me think of how good the characters and story was in ATLA.

From a prince to a petty thief to a refugee and back to a prince then a rebel and then the Fire Lord. And every last bit of it, good and bad, all earned. Yin and Yang represented perfectly through Zuko’s Journey.

cool thing about Zuko: his scar is more than just rule of cool Usually a villain’s scar is a one-note tragic backstory or something to make them more scary. But it’s so much more than that with Zuko. The incident that caused the scar was traumatic and horrible and has a major impact on his character. It’s not just a cool character design, it’s important and thought through

One thing I love about the way they wrote Zuko/Iroh is how they were able to maintain Iroh as an unwavering source of true wisdom and righteousness who didn't have, for lack of a better word, weaknesses. While this is usually done badly in media, I think they did a good job of acknowledging his past flaws and mistakes that led him to where he was, Zuko's arc feels like it was a mirror of Iroh's, and one that we could follow along with to see how Iroh got to where he is today.

Much as I wish the show had given us a Zuko & Toph Life-Changing Field Trip™, I completely understand why it wasn't given to us-- they didn't need it. Everyone else on the team had had bad experiences with Zuko in the past and needed to see for themselves how he'd grown and changed. Toph, on the otherhand, had no such experiences, was predisposed to liking him on Iroh's behalf, and was willing to accept him on board right away. (Even when he burnt her feet, she didn't blame him, because she had the maturity to understand that it was an unintended mistake, rather than a brutal attack.)