katy-l-wood:ilya-boltagon:This flashback in ATLA, Azulon becoming enraged with Ozai for disrespectin
katy-l-wood:ilya-boltagon:This flashback in ATLA, Azulon becoming enraged with Ozai for disrespecting Iroh and the recently deceased Lu Ten, is usually interpreted as Azulon then ordering Ozai to kill Zuko. I disagree with this for two reasons.1: We don’t actually hear Azulon say that, it’s only referred to by Azula (who was around seven or eight at the time and might have misunderstood what she heard) and by Ozai, years later, when he is taunting Zuko on the Day of Black Sun. Neither Azula nor Ozai are reliable narrators.2: Azulon is, at the time of this flashback, the ruler of the Fire Nation who has just lost one of his only two grandsons and heirs. What kind of monarch loses one heir and then turns around and demands the death of another, especially when losing Zuko would hardly bother Ozai?My interpretation of this situation is Azulon ordered Ozai to give Zuko into Iroh’s care, replacing Lu Ten as Iroh’s heir, neatly removing any argument Ozai had about Iroh’s line having ended. Ozai of course would never accept this. He either lied to Ursa, claiming Azulon wished Zuko dead, or outright told his wife he’d kill Zuko before seeing him get ahead of him in the line of succession, thus manipulating Ursa to help him assassinate Azulon. I think this theory makes far more logical sense than ‘Azulon ordered the murder of his nine-year-old grandson’. Oh, I like this. I like this lots. I’ve always felt this made much more sense. Azulon was known as a tactical genius. Forcing Ozai to give Zuko to Iroh, thereby placing his own son ahead of him in succession (and pretty much guaranteeing that Ozai will be bypassed), is a much more ironic and brutal punishment for Ozai’s behaviour here. Look, they only just got word of Lu Ten’s passing, so Ozai is really being tacky as fuck here by completely ignoring whatever social customs the FN has about respect for the dead and mourning periods - so I can see Azulon wanting to teach Ozai a lesson. Ozai’s crime is trying to surpass his older brother in succession, so being suplanted by his own son is a much more fitting punishment. But yeah.I believe ozai would rather kill Zuko than ever kneel to him, so… -- source link
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