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Avatar comic: The Search
I picked up Part 1 of The Search today (the new A:tLA tie-in comic).
... these are canon, right? At least that's my understanding -- that they're being written with input from the original creators, and everything that happens is creator-sanctioned and canonical.
Because if so ...
EGAD, HOLY CRAP, and also, WHAT??? I was expecting fun hijinks in the A:tLA world, not a huge game-changer about Zuko's parentage.
I just. Don't know what to think about this! I am still not convinced it's actually true; perhaps Ursa was aware that her letters were being read and was lying for some reason, or maybe the double-agent servant changed the content of the letter. Except I can't think of any reason for anyone to do something like that. Or maybe her math was a bit off? (You'd think SOMEONE, Azulon and Ozai in particular, would have been suspicious about the "wedding to birth of heir" math not quite checking out ...)
Obviously we know that Zuko remains Fire Lord in the future. Er ... OR DOES HE??? We haven't really seen anything about Zuko in Legend of Korra, and maybe this is why: because his tenure as Fire Lord didn't last very long, and there's no way to deal with Zuko much at all in flashbacks without that becoming clear.
On the other hand, if Zuko is not Ozai's (biological) son, then that would make Iroh the most likely candidate for Fire Lord (Azula seems to think it's her, but Iroh's got a better case, I think), and he would most likely appoint Zuko as his successor (probably more or less instantly), so things would stay basically the same except Zuko's claim on the throne would be a bit shakier.
Still, I don't really like having such a pat and tidy reason why Ozai favored Azula over Zuko. I liked it better when Ozai favored Azula because she was the golden child: the technical virtuoso and the one who was lacking Zuko's "weaknesses" of compassion and empathy. It felt more like real family dynamics: messy and irrational and human.
And yet, the big reveal fits so perfectly with everything that happened in the show. It neatly explains why Azulon tried to have Zuko killed in the first place (the event that precipitated Ursa fleeing the palace), why Ozai had nothing but contempt for Zuko, and why Azula was his preferred heir to the throne. And it also makes perfect sense that Ozai wouldn't want word getting out about Zuko's true parentage. But then he was in a bind: with the entire Fire Nation believing Zuko was the heir, he couldn't act against Zuko directly. Instead he must have been hoping Zuko would get himself killed in the search for the Avatar. (Now I wonder if he was actually trying to kill him when he burned Zuko's face, and make it look like an accident ...)
One of the things that bothered me when I first read the issue is that I'd always loved how Zuko's storyline revolved around the fact that he's not his father, that he's a much better person and in the end, was able to separate himself from Ozai and become the person he should have been. But then I realized I'm falling into the "biological parent equals actual parent" trap: Zuko has never even met Ikem, and Ozai is the only father he's ever known, the one he grew up with and the one he tried to model himself after, and the one he eventually rejected to be his own person.
And Iroh is still his primary parent-figure just as much as ever, even if there's a biological father in the picture now. Heck, we don't even know if Ikem is still alive.
... Still, I feel a little weird about it, and I think what it comes down to is that, prior to the reveal in this issue, the basic theme of Zuko's storyline is"biology isn't destiny". And while the basic emotional features of Zuko's arc still work fine, this is basically the EXACT OPPOSITE of the original message, if the comic is going to be giving us the impression that the differences between Zuko and the rest of his family are at least partly due to the difference in his biological parentage.
*flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaails*
On a side note, I liked that the Ursa-Roku connection wasn't a total coincidence, but was a deliberate choice on Azulon's part. That makes a lot of sense.
Also, Zuko continues to be adorable.
And I miss Toph. I hope she's in the next issue.
... these are canon, right? At least that's my understanding -- that they're being written with input from the original creators, and everything that happens is creator-sanctioned and canonical.
Because if so ...
EGAD, HOLY CRAP, and also, WHAT??? I was expecting fun hijinks in the A:tLA world, not a huge game-changer about Zuko's parentage.
I just. Don't know what to think about this! I am still not convinced it's actually true; perhaps Ursa was aware that her letters were being read and was lying for some reason, or maybe the double-agent servant changed the content of the letter. Except I can't think of any reason for anyone to do something like that. Or maybe her math was a bit off? (You'd think SOMEONE, Azulon and Ozai in particular, would have been suspicious about the "wedding to birth of heir" math not quite checking out ...)
Obviously we know that Zuko remains Fire Lord in the future. Er ... OR DOES HE??? We haven't really seen anything about Zuko in Legend of Korra, and maybe this is why: because his tenure as Fire Lord didn't last very long, and there's no way to deal with Zuko much at all in flashbacks without that becoming clear.
On the other hand, if Zuko is not Ozai's (biological) son, then that would make Iroh the most likely candidate for Fire Lord (Azula seems to think it's her, but Iroh's got a better case, I think), and he would most likely appoint Zuko as his successor (probably more or less instantly), so things would stay basically the same except Zuko's claim on the throne would be a bit shakier.
Still, I don't really like having such a pat and tidy reason why Ozai favored Azula over Zuko. I liked it better when Ozai favored Azula because she was the golden child: the technical virtuoso and the one who was lacking Zuko's "weaknesses" of compassion and empathy. It felt more like real family dynamics: messy and irrational and human.
And yet, the big reveal fits so perfectly with everything that happened in the show. It neatly explains why Azulon tried to have Zuko killed in the first place (the event that precipitated Ursa fleeing the palace), why Ozai had nothing but contempt for Zuko, and why Azula was his preferred heir to the throne. And it also makes perfect sense that Ozai wouldn't want word getting out about Zuko's true parentage. But then he was in a bind: with the entire Fire Nation believing Zuko was the heir, he couldn't act against Zuko directly. Instead he must have been hoping Zuko would get himself killed in the search for the Avatar. (Now I wonder if he was actually trying to kill him when he burned Zuko's face, and make it look like an accident ...)
One of the things that bothered me when I first read the issue is that I'd always loved how Zuko's storyline revolved around the fact that he's not his father, that he's a much better person and in the end, was able to separate himself from Ozai and become the person he should have been. But then I realized I'm falling into the "biological parent equals actual parent" trap: Zuko has never even met Ikem, and Ozai is the only father he's ever known, the one he grew up with and the one he tried to model himself after, and the one he eventually rejected to be his own person.
And Iroh is still his primary parent-figure just as much as ever, even if there's a biological father in the picture now. Heck, we don't even know if Ikem is still alive.
... Still, I feel a little weird about it, and I think what it comes down to is that, prior to the reveal in this issue, the basic theme of Zuko's storyline is"biology isn't destiny". And while the basic emotional features of Zuko's arc still work fine, this is basically the EXACT OPPOSITE of the original message, if the comic is going to be giving us the impression that the differences between Zuko and the rest of his family are at least partly due to the difference in his biological parentage.
*flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaails*
On a side note, I liked that the Ursa-Roku connection wasn't a total coincidence, but was a deliberate choice on Azulon's part. That makes a lot of sense.
Also, Zuko continues to be adorable.
And I miss Toph. I hope she's in the next issue.
no subject
Apparently much of Tumblr has taken the letter at face value, and is arguing that only hack writers use misdirection and twists to fool their audience. Of course, then they argue that Yang is a hack, even though this particular plotline was Bryke's, and was pitched as a movie-length special to Nickelodeon.
no subject
That's a good point, though, that we have no idea what was in the letter 'til Zuko reads it. Heck, it's even possible that Azula is the one who switched it from the actual shocking letter to the version we saw -- it certainly fits her agenda very nicely if Zuko isn't actually heir to the throne, and the fact that she doesn't reveal it immediately (that she is, instead, waiting until Ursa is not around to dispute it) implies that she knows or at least suspects that it might not be true. Because if it really IS true, then there's no reason not to simply unleash the letters into the public eye as soon as she finds them, and make a play for the throne. At least, no reason I can think of.
no subject
The best lies always fit the known facts!
But I thought about it -- I had a lot of Feels about this, and a long plane flight to indulge them -- and if Ozai believed that Zuko wasn't his son, he would have announced it back when Zuko was being banished. And if there was so much as a whisper of a rumour, I can't see Zhao keeping it to himself when there's Zuko-trolling to be done.
Heck, it's even possible that Azula is the one who switched it from the actual shocking letter to the version we saw -- it certainly fits her agenda very nicely if Zuko isn't actually heir to the throne, and the fact that she doesn't reveal it immediately (that she is, instead, waiting until Ursa is not around to dispute it) implies that she knows or at least suspects that it might not be true.
That's true! But I'm inclined to think that Azula's being as sincere as she's capable here -- she genuinely believes Ozai was badly treated by Ursa, and if she suspects the letter is false, it's only a subconscious notion at this point. I mean, she doesn't seem all that rational, with her obsession about Ursa manipulating friends and strangers.
no subject
(Also, I just noticed that the Blue Spirit mask is one of the ones on Ursa's wall of masks from her home village. Oh, Zuko.)
I agree with you that Azula seems to be acting sincerely, though! At least to the extent that one can tell, with Azula. But she doesn't seem to be openly duplicitous. Actually, thinking about it -- that sort of long-game duplicity has never been Azula's style. She will certainly lie, but she's not really a chessmaster type of villain. She's more of the "laugh in your face and stab you" school of villainy.
ETA: Also, that's a good point that considering how many enemies Zuko had, it's hard to believe that no one would have found this out and used it against him before, even if it was only circulating in the form of rumor and doubt.
no subject
*weeping*
Also, that's a good point that considering how many enemies Zuko had, it's hard to believe that no one would have found this out and used it against him before, even if it was only circulating in the form of rumor and doubt.
Yeah. The idea that he's not Ozai's son seems to have never crossed his mind -- and frankly, I can't help but think that if Iroh suspected as much, he would have said something.
no subject
But I am about 85% certain that it is a fake, and that Ursa wrote something quite different (but upsetting to Ozai in other ways).
no subject
no subject
And of course, we don't actually know if any of this is really true or not...
no subject
But at the same time, I still think that having Zuko, the "good guy" one of Ozai's two kids, be someone else's biological son undermines the "biology isn't destiny" theme in a rather ugly way. Because people do think that way, and this plays right into that.