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cobra-diamond · 4 years

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How to Develop Avatar’s Season 4 - Part 3

1 The Pillars of Season 4

In order to move discussions about future Avatar past mere speculations about what the creators were thinking, or whether or not going beyond Aang’s journey makes thematic sense, you have to start coming up with answers for what a 4th season would have been about: through which characters’ eyes do we primarily view the story? What is the overarching conflict? Who, or what is the primary threat? What are the new goals for the original cast? What challenges will they face? What changes will they go through? And so on.

Fortunately, the three Fire Nation comics give us insight into what the creators had in mind for a 4th season. That being said, the comics are not Season 4. A Season 4 would not have had a Zuko that is so brain dead that he would forget his responsibilities and make a deal with Azula to give her the crown so he could live with his “real” (i.e. biological) family in some small town. A Season 4 would not have retconned Ursa so that she was exclusively a hapless victim of the royal family and not directly responsible for the killing of Fire Lord Azulon (this is not what the show implied, nor what the creators and prior official content stated about Ursa). A Season 4 would not have had an Azula whose multiple layers of inner turmoil vanish off-screen so she could become a “weightless, free” anarcho-guerilla inside her own country (see: Smoke and Shadow), among other problems.

Nevertheless, the comics contain the critical elements necessary for devising a comprehensive post-finale story. These story elements are fundamental; they originate from the internal logic of the show and the loose threads left behind. However, since the comics exist and will likely never be retconned or remade, we may never get the “true” Season 4 that is revealed by these fundamental story elements. In that sense, these story elements could be thought of as the “Remnants of Season 4”, but that isn’t a very positive way of looking at things. It suggests we fans can’t use our own imaginations to fill in the gaps and come up with better answers than what the market forces affecting Avatar allows. Fans should be encouraged to use their imaginations, so I call these story remnants “The Pillars of Season 4” because they provide the foundation for building a compelling, consistent continuation of Avatar past the ending in the finale.

1.1 Pillar #1: Resentment & Opposition to Zuko

In Zuko’s coronation speech at the end of the show, he said he would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, that the road ahead would be challenging, that one hundred years of war had left the world scarred and divided, but with the help of the Avatar, they could get it back on the right path and begin a new era of love and peace.

A new era of love and peace. Rebuilding. Healing. That is exactly what the world needs. The Water Tribe needs love and peace. The Earth Kingdom needs love and peace. Rebuilding the Air Nomads needs love and peace, but the Fire Nation… Does not. Remember that the Fire Nation was not militarily dominated at the end of the show, nor was Zuko part of a wider internal movement to overthrow the current leadership and undo the past one hundred years. We did observe a small community suffering due to the war (the fishing village on the river), but this is not shown to be widespread; we are shown far more clean Fire Nation cities with substantial industrial activity in the background. The Fire Nation was not decimated by a century of invasion, nor was it brutalized by an external (or internal) foe that requires rebuilding from. It doesn’t need to heal. It is not scarred. It is not divided (more than any other stable country, that is).

Zuko took power while the Fire Nation was at the height of its power and prestige and he believes it needs to be taken down several notches, that its honor questioned and its feats during the war impugned and undone. How many Fire Nationals are going to accept that view, especially from someone who was so recently deemed a failure and traitor by their previous Fire Lord? How much of the nobility, government and military is going to be skeptical of his intentions, or even downright furious at his ascendance? How many people in the Fire Nation are going to view him as a usurper, as a traitor, as an unworthy recipient of the crown? What kind of actions is Zuko going to take that will inflame these parts of the populace so much that they actively resist him? Notably, this is what happens in The Promise.

One could take the stance that Zuko becoming Fire Lord was enough to set things right, that the whole Fire Nation simply rolled over and became obedient, but an instantly reformed Fire Nation has no potential for conflict and drama and thus no potential for a story. It also conflicts with official descriptions of the present culture of the Fire Nation, which Zuko is very much not a representative of as established by the fact that he became disillusioned with it. Therefore, the cause of Season 4’s central conflict is this: Zuko’s idealism must collide with the reality that the Fire Nation is not ready for the demilitarization, disgrace and emphasis on morality that it deserves.

What are some of the potential points of conflict between Zuko and his country? They could be: dismantling the colonies, mishandling the relocation of the colonials to the homeland, using vast amounts of Fire Nation resources to rebuild the world, mishandling the rapid demilitarization, being viewed as a traitor serving the interests of the world versus the Fire Nation, being seen as trying to destroy valuable parts of Fire Nation culture, and so on.

At the same time, members of the old regime—the bureaucracy that manages the country—might flee their posts, leading to momentary disarray and less qualified replacements; they might drain the royal coffers and armories and hide it to undermine Zuko; they might clandestinely divert funds, sabotage his efforts, or even embed themselves in his new cabinet to sabotage him from within.

In short, things are not going right for Zuko. They can’t be if you want a compelling central conflict.

In the words of Uncle Iroh, fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. From that statement alone, it can be ascertained how that type of culture can have an aggressive, ambitious, ruthless streak buried within that must be controlled less it boil over into disaster (Sozin’s desire for conquest could be argued to have stemmed from this culture). As a result, the Fire Nation should be full of people who view Zuko’s rise as an unjust coup by their nation’s enemies, his actions as the willful destruction of the Fire Nation’s legacy and his lack of heirs as an opportunity to make sure Zuko’s policies end with him, which is exactly what happens in The Promise: multiple, constant assignation attempts on Zuko as a result of his destruction of the colonies.

So the 1st pillar of Season 4 requires Zuko to face opposition from his country over his policies surrounding the end of the Hundred Year War and his goal to change Fire Nation culture. The next pillar concerns the royal family.

1.2 Pillar #2: The Anemic State of the Royal family

The royal family is both a hereditary monarchy and one in which the leaders must be seen as worthy of their role. Although it was never shown in the series, Bryke have stated that they believe Fire Lords are expected to “prove their worth” and can have their authority and hereditary line challenged through Agni Kais. This is partly why they have to be powerful firebenders and proficient fighters. At the same time, the Fire Sages also play some role in the legitimacy of the Fire Lord, though this role is not clear. Perhaps it is like the Shogun/Emperor relationship from ancient Japan, where the Shogun had the “blessing” of the Emperor, but it was really the Shogun who ran the country while the Emperor acted as a figurehead and cultural leader. At any rate, Zuko inherited the throne after defeating and/or incapacitating Azula and the Fire Sages in the capital crown him the new Fire Lord...

… But it’s only him. He has no other family ready to continue his legacy. Are he and Mai married? … No? Are they having kids any time soon? Not for several years at best. At the same time, his father is in prison and his bending has been removed, making him both ineligible for the crown and a threat to Zuko’s plans. Ozai is simply out of the question. Making matters worse, Zuko’s mother is gone, Iroh is a childless old man and his sister is both in a form of prison and, seemingly, mentally unfit to rule in addition to being a hostile member of the old regime. Maybe Iroh could be considered as shoring up the royal blood line, but he has no children and he might not last that long.

This “anemic” state of the royal family could allow the ambitious-types in the country to smell blood for a regime change. Those who hate Zuko could view this as an opportunity to off him and the rest of the royal family. Maybe they want a Fire Lord who will do what they want or be easily manipulated. Maybe they want a new royal family with a larger network of existing family. Maybe they want to get rid of the royal family altogether and replace it with something else, such as a return to the Fire Islands (think of the feudal domains of ancient Japan or the numerous kingdoms of ancient China).

But that’s what the ambitious, disgruntled members of the country think. For the rest of the country, the anemic, divided and dysfunctional state of the royal family sends three troubling messages: 1) that their country’s leadership is unstable and that it might be better to get a change over with now lest it be catastrophic later; 2) that the most powerful people in their country (the royal family) disagree with what’s best for the country when they are supposed to know what is best; and 3) that the current royal family might be permanently divided.

And Zuko sees this. In the beginning of The Search, he comments how his father being in prison, his sister in an institution and his mother being missing for years sends a bleak message about himself, his country and family. If the royal family is supposed to be exactly that, a family, as Zuko laments, then is the fact that he went to war with his own family (to do what was right) sending the message to his people that they should go to war amongst their own family (their fellow citizens) to do what they believe is right: either overthrow the Fire Lord, or stop him from being overthrown? That’s kindling for a civil war. Notably, that Earth Kingdom academic’s explanation about a nation being a large family is based on Confucian thought.

Second to this, Zuko also feels depressed that he doesn’t have a real family. Yes, he has the Gaang. Yes, he has Iroh. Yes, he has Mai, but the fact that he can’t sit down for dinner with a mother, father and sister like a normal family eats at his soul every night and day as portrayed in The Promise and The Search. It’s something he wants, something he craves and it is a constant, depressing reminder of how messed up his family is. Gaining friends through the Gang and wearing the crown hasn’t fixed that.

But we know Zuko can never have those things, at least not for a long time. His father is a menace, his sister is an enemy and lunatic, and Iroh is just one uncle who, while like a real father to him, is a reminder of how dysfunctional his family is. His mother is also gone… Or, does she have to be?

She might very well be alive. If Zuko finds her, he can have a mother again and not only that, he could use it as an example of the royal family being on the path to recovery. She isn’t his enemy. There’s no bad blood between them. If he could find her and bring her back, then he would feel less alone and the royal family wouldn’t be as empty. It would just be his mother, but at least it’s something, and this is exactly why Zuko decides to put his duties on hold and look for his mom in The Search.

The 2nd pillar of Season 4 must be this: the currently anemic, dysfunctional state of the royal family must have wider implications for the success of Zuko’s rule and the Fire Nation at large.

The fact that Ozai is in prison with his bending removed is not important because he is a villain who deserves it, but because he is the father of the Fire Lord and that’s how bad things are between him and his son. The fact that Azula is in an asylum is not important because she is a villain who deserves it, but because that’s how messed up the princess is. The fact that Ursa is missing is not important because Zuko misses her, but because the mother of the prince and princess is not supposed to be missing.

This bridges into the next pillar of the season: the search for Ursa must represent a step toward rebuilding the royal family.

1.3 Pillar #3: Finding Ursa is a Step Toward Repairing the Royal Family

When the show ended, the number one question captivating fans was, “What happened to Zuko’s mom?!?” The creators even teased us with it in Korra. Certainly it was a worthwhile question to answer and the creators thought so too, having stated in interviews that they storyboarded the reunion scene, but ultimately gave it the axe because they felt it needed more time to be properly told.

This was the right move. Having the reunion scene be a 30 second blurb at the very end serves no greater purpose than to give Zuko a happy moment. Such a shallow handling of the subject would also have had other unfortunate implications. First, it would have trivialized the freshly revealed issues that Zuko’s sister has with their mother, which were depicted as being of much greater psychological importance to her than to him, and secondly, most critically, it would have erased the enormous value that the search for Zuko’s mom has for continuing the show past the finale. This is a key point: the search for Zuko’s (and Azula’s) mom is the key to bridging the gap between the end of the show and the start of its continuation. This is because fans are already interested in the subject of Ursa and it was left unresolved; it was a blatant loose thread that was compelling enough to answer. Putting the search for Zuko’s mom at the start (or close to) of a 4th season would allow fans a way of immediately buying into a continuation of the series.

However, it is a waste of time if the search for Ursa is merely an adventure for the Gaang and Zuko. The events that occur and its outcome have to tie into the existing problems surrounding the royal family (see: Pillar #2) and must contain conflict, uncertainty and contribute to the overall story that Season 4 aims to tell. This means the search for Ursa cannot be simple and cannot merely be about finding Ursa. It must hit multiple turtle ducks with one loaf of bread. So how can this be done? How can the search for Ursa be both full of conflict and uncertainty, contribute to the overall story and convey the theme of rebuilding the royal family? By applying the 4th pillar: the Fire Siblings must work together to find their mom. This means the return of Azula.

1.4 Pillar #4: The Fire Siblings Work Together to Find Their Mom

There were two loose threads at the end of the show. The first was well recognized and obvious: what happened to Zuko’s mom? The second was less universally recognized, but equally perplexing: what is the ultimate fate of Azula?

In addition to being a top villain, Azula underwent the most rapid and unexpected change of any character in the franchise, creating questions about her motivations and personality where none had previously existed, but yielding very few answers in return. What should have been a triumphant battle between her and Zuko—obvious evil versus obvious good; a bully getting squashed by their victim—turned into a somber event backed by sad violins. So was the fade-to-black at the end of the Agni Kai the last we should ever see of her?

It turns out that Azula is critically important to the layout of a 4th season. There are three reasons for this. First, she is Ursa’s daughter. Since Ursa is Azula’s mom, Ursa is going to implicitly care about what her daughter thinks and feels, regardless of our (the viewer’s) feelings about her villainy. At the same time, Zuko is going to care about what his mother thinks and feels, which means we are going to care about what Ursa thinks and feels about Azula. If Zuko’s mother is expressing concern, regret, longing, etc. over issues relating to Azula, then Zuko is going to take his mother’s feelings to heart because that’s the kind of person he is; he isn’t going to dismiss his mother’s feelings out of hand because Azula makes him and others uncomfortable. Consider this: is it really Avatar’s place to talk about what it’s like to have family members in prison who were rightfully convicted? Because that is a dead-end topic full of heartache and distress with no hopeful message or inspiring resolution.

As a result, when Zuko decides to find his mother, the topic of Azula is going to arise immediately because he knows his mother is going to care about her. This makes the search for Ursa the most logical re-entry point for Azula. This is a key point: just as the search for Zuko’s mom is the bridge between the end of the show and its continuation, the search for Ursa is the bridge for bringing back Azula. We care about Zuko. We care about the Gaang. We also care about Ursa, but we don’t necessarily care about Azula. Tying her into the search for Zuko’s mom softens the shock of her return.

But why bring Azula back at all? Aren’t we done with her? Can’t she just be left as a “messy” part of life so the Gaang and Zuko can go on new adventures and meet new people?

Azula’s ultimate outcome is relevant both for the sake of Ursa and for the future of the royal family. Keep in mind that Zuko is both the supreme leader of his country and default leader of his family (which is in shambles). He is responsible for a great many things greater than himself and his feelings. It is his job to ponder questions like, “Should I execute Azula, or keep her alive?” Or, “If I keep her alive, what is ultimately done with her?” Or, “Would annihilating her ability to be a credible authority in the country (i.e. remove her bending) be a mistake further down the road?” And even, “Are those actions in line with the kind of person I am?” Zuko can’t shy away from these questions and neither can we.

Whether or not Azula can be part of a functional, peaceful royal family with Zuko is not what’s important. The fact that Azula is Ursa’s daughter is what’s important and unassailable. This, however, is minor compared to the next two reasons for Azula’s involvement in Season 4.

The second reason Azula is critical to a 4th season is because she is a young member of the royal family who can firebend. That fact alone makes her supremely relevant to the success of Zuko’s legacy. Will the country view her as a natural, more desirable alternative to Zuko? Will they disregard Zuko’s attempts to make her ineligible to rule? Will they view Azula as hope they can have her as a leader some day (and undo Zuko’s policies)?

Not only would the opposition have their eyes on Azula, but will Zuko hope that Azula can be integrated into his rule in a timely fashion, thereby strengthening both his position and the royal family’s?

You could take the viewpoint that nothing bad will happen in the decades it takes for Zuko to raise a family, but Zuko’s enemies might act much sooner (and they have to since the goal is to create a gripping story). From Zuko’s perspective of looking at the big picture, it might be regrettable in the long term if Azula’s potential to help stabilize the country and royal family is left unfulfilled.

The third reason is because Azula is a well-regarded, powerful and highly accomplished member of the old regime. Not only is she an alternative to Zuko by family, but also by her reputation and abilities; the forces in the country that oppose Zuko might want to use her to neutralize him; they might also hold her in greater esteem than Zuko and view her as the rightful Fire Lord.

We know it is not this simple, though. Azula is not operating from a clean slate. She suffered a psychotic episode so bad that even Zuko and Katara were able to take pity on her. Instead of putting her in prison and having Aang remove her bending, Zuko had her incarcerated in straight jackets and padded cells in relative comfort. She also just embarrassed herself in front of the whole capital and, by extension, the leadership of the country, by banishing all of her servants and guards for no good reason (seriously, where did the Dai Lee go??) Maybe the events that transpired in the finale shifted the public’s view of Azula from being a “terrifying yet inspirational” leader to being weak-willed and too unstable to be Fire Lord despite her accomplishments. Maybe she has lost the respect and confidence of the people who would have otherwise sought her leadership.

At any rate, whoever gets a hold of Azula has a powerful weapon at their disposal. If the opposition acquires Azula, they will be made substantially more powerful and legitimate. On the other hand, if Zuko can get Azula on his side, his position will be that much more strengthened; not only will there be someone to guard his legacy—if, if, IF he can get her on his side—but her allegiance might be what it takes to win over those who hate him; if Azula of all people can accept Zuko’s rule then doesn’t that mean the rest of the old regime can?

So Azula’s ultimate outcome is not a heartfelt reunion with her mother. It is not a moral redemption story. It is not resolving her myriad of emotional problems for her own sake. Azula’s ultimate outcome is to contribute to the leadership of the Fire Nation, because that is what members of the royal family are supposed to do and she is a member of the royal family. This requires her to play a key role in resolving the massive internal conflict facing the Fire Nation as a result of Zuko’s policies. By having Zuko and Azula work together to find their mother, it introduces the idea that it is possible for the Fire Siblings to work together, that the defeated members of the old regime can get over their differences with the new one, and acts as a mirror to the 1st pillar about Zuko facing resentment and opposition from his own people (who better to represent that than Azula?).

But this role for Azula cannot be forced upon her. In any good story, characters must make choices and the reasons for those choices must be sufficiently developed. In order for Azula to take a side in the conflict, it must come as the result of believable inner-conflict and soul-searching on her part, or else it will just be a shallow rehashing of something she already is (a villain) or an unearned, half-baked means of getting her on the side of Zuko. Essentially, since Azula was already a villain and soundly defeated in the show, her new role has to be more complex and different from what we’ve already seen. For this to occur, Azula has to learn for herself the depth of animosity toward Zuko that is brewing in the Fire Nation and the consequences of it should it fester out of control.

But Azula has been in an asylum all this time. She’s been chi-blocked, restrained, manhandled on a daily basis and altogether detached from the outside world. She needs to get experience with what’s going on in the Fire Nation and learn it firsthand, not be told it (as smart as she is, she is not all-knowing). This yields the 5th pillar of the 4th season: Azula must live amongst her people.

1.5 Pillar #5: Azula Runs Away and Lives Amongst Her People

Azula is not brought back in Season 4 because she deserves a happy ending, or because she is misunderstood, or because she is cool or for anything close to that. She is brought back because she is necessary for resolving the season’s conflict and for conveying its themes. In order for this role to be believable (i.e. feel like it is earned by the character and not by the plot), it must be given adequate time to develop.

To contribute to the overarching conflict, Azula must first develop a detailed perspective on the burgeoning unrest in the Fire Nation. Similar to how Zuko’s exposure to Earth Kingdom peoples allowed him to develop sympathy for their plight (and respect for Iroh’s teachings), Azula must live amongst the people of the Fire Nation to understand what is happening among them and what is at stake. In this respect, if Zuko represents a leader who must feel compassion toward and act in the best interests of the world and Fire Nation, Azula must be a leader who feels compassion toward and act in the best interests of the Fire Nation. Her concern is not the world, but for the Fire Nation. Zuko’s concern is both. This is where their interests align.

The time Azula spends amongst her people is not for her to develop sympathy or tenderness or righteous protectiveness toward them as we would expect from Zuko. This is not to say that she wouldn’t feel compassion for her people, but there is a shrewdness and practicality to the insights she makes into her nation, like an undercover boss learning their company is not what they had thought, or like a princess learning that there are problems in her country that otherwise would deserve the attention of its princess. There is another key point highlighting Azula’s value in contributing to Zuko’s goal of redeeming the Fire Nation, and it is absolutely critical: Azula provides a key perspective on the current Fire Nation that we cannot get from the heroes.

The lesson at the end of Zuko’s coronation is that the Fire Nation has to be taken down several notches. It has to be impugned and reprimanded, defanged and reformed. We have not seen that Fire Nation, though. The most we saw was a factory spewing sludge into the river near a small fishing village and kids who were taught lies about the start of the war (and weren’t allowed to dance. The shock and horror). What we don’t know is what the current Fire Nation thinks and feels about Zuko and his plans to undo the past hundred years.

Remember how Azula is a member of the old regime and, in many ways, the Fire Nation that must be changed? She was also a true believer in that Fire Nation, just like the people who are trying to assassinate Zuko in The Promise. Not only this, but she is royalty, making her perspective on what it takes to lead the country more prescient than disgruntled nobles, generals, colonials and the like. It makes her perspective on what the Fire Nation is today more valuable than the rose-tinted view of what it used to be, or should be. It is the Fire Nation of today that must change, not the Fire Nation of old that must be arise from the grave; those people are dead and buried, it’s the people who are alive now who are of concern.

When we see the Fire Nation and its troubles through Azula’s eyes, we do so from the perspective of the Fire Nation that must have its honor restored, not the Fire Nation that must be rebuilt through Zuko’s idealism and unquestionable honor. Remember that the overarching purpose of Zuko’s journey is to restore the honor of the Fire Nation. Restore it. It has not happened yet. For Zuko to do that, he has to better understand the Fire Nation that benefited from the war, that found it acceptable that he be burned and banished by his father and that was willing to do horrible things that he could not do himself because that is the Fire Nation that he needs to change.

Do you think Zuko is going to have a “kill all who oppose me” attitude? Is he going to order troops to storm into libraries, break into academics’ homes and burn all documents and writings that say anything positive about the war in order to erase it from history like certain Chinese emperors did? Is he going to jail all who oppose him? Probably not, and that probably wouldn’t work either as, if the penalty for treason is death and the penalty for rebellion is death, then you rebel, and as we know, a single firebender is a one-person army. How many of them live across the Fire Nation and could do immeasurable damage if organized into even a modest army? The Capital has to get its food from somewhere…

But that Fire Nation hates Zuko’s guts and Zuko is constrained by being the Fire Lord. He can’t just put his duties on hold and live amongst his people for an extended length of time, nor does he have the inclination to sympathize with people who believe he deserved to have been burned and that the war was good and justified. But there is someone in the royal family who can sympathize with those people, who has the anonymity to live amongst them, learn the details of their grievances and plans and, potentially, command their respect, and that is Azula. Think that Iroh cares much about that part of his country? Or, that they even care about him? This doesn’t mean Iroh hates them, but he might feel casual disdain. We’ve seen evidence in the show that Iroh is both loved and despised. Not only this, but he’s been secretly working against the Fire Nation for years and did so very blatantly during the events of Sozin’s Comet. All of this now out in the open, along with the White Lotus Society’s “extranational” status as a group of foreign agents working to supplant the Fire Nation’s government. Remember that the people opposing Zuko do not view Iroh and the White Lotus as the heroes that we do. They likely hate the White Lotus’ guts too.

In order for Azula to be exposed to these intimate levels of Fire Nation society, she has to live amongst the people affected by Zuko’s policies, and the decision for her to do so has to come entirely from her. It can’t be a brokered deal between her and Zuko at the start of the season, nor can it be out of pure self-interest either. It also can’t be contrived; no one can break her out of the asylum, tell them their plans and she says, “I’m in!” She has to be in the right place at the right time and in the right frame of mind to end up on this path naturally. In order for all of this to occur, she must literally escape the influences of her old life (being a prisoner, threatened with having her bending removed, being second to Zuko, reminded daily of her failures, feeling humiliated, etc.) and go into hiding amongst her people. This allows us to see the “full” Azula through the eyes and experiences of the Fire Nation, not through the heroes and their bad blood with her.

So Azula is initially reintroduced through her connection to Ursa and the royal family. She is involved in some way with the search for her mother, but events transpire during the search that motivate her to run away and go into hiding. Whatever those events are, the motivating factors have to be tied to the themes and unresolved issues surrounding her downfall in the finale. Her psychotic episode, banishing people, her erratic behavior during the Agni Kai, incarceration in an insane asylum and her ultimate failure to prevent the old regime from falling are essential features of who she is moving forward and they cannot be resolved off-screen. There is no going back to the old Azula, just like there’s no going back to the old Zuko. The latter half of Season 3 changed her forever and must be addressed.

There is a concept in story crafting called “scene and sequel”. It’s odd terminology, but it works like this: “scenes” are where the action occurs. It is where the world in which the characters live, or the characters themselves, undergo major changes that drive the story forward. Whereas “sequels” are the low points between the scenes, the low valleys between the high mountains. They are where things are relatively static for the characters; the lulls between major changes where the characters need time to adjust. Scene and sequel affects the tempo of a story and the key to understanding it is this: by the end of a scene, a character must have undergone a substantial change from who or where they were at the beginning, whereas during a sequel, they remain unchanged from start to finish. Sure, they can move a teensy bit, but if, for example, whatever is making them sad at the start of a sequel is resolved, that resolution must occur during a scene. It can’t “just happen” during a low point; it can’t happen off screen.

Scene and sequel is important to understanding how to reintroduce Azula back into the show. Whereas Zuko, Aang, Katara and the rest of the heroes completed their arcs by the end, Azula had not. In fact, her misery was just starting. The time between the end of Season 3 and the start of Season 4 represents a sequel for Azula. Therefore, Azula’s unresolved problems leftover at the end of the finale cannot be explained away; they have to be continued.

The last time we saw Azula she was rolling around on the ground, in chains, screaming and crying as her world fell down around her. The next time we see her, she cannot be radically different from that. Yes, she can be lucid and calm and able to hold a conversation, but she has to be frazzled and on edge; she has to be bitter and depressed; humiliated and resentful; hopeless and scared. She has to be in denial about her culpability for her failures. She has to be desperate to absolve herself of blame even though the truth is gnawing at the back of her mind, because that’s where she left off. Essentially, the emotional “pallet” from the finale has to be carried forward.

However Azula is portrayed when she returns, one thing has to be very clear: she has not gotten over the events that transpired in the finale. Notably, this is what The Search did with her and it was done rather reasonably well.

As for the reasons why Azula runs away, or escapes, or disappears? Perhaps she does try to kill her mother in a hairbrained scheme born out of her desperation and mental unwellness, as portrayed in The Search, and so does not want to face the consequences for it. Maybe there is a letter putting Zuko’s paternity in doubt, but Azula screws up the opportunity to use it against him (she gets distracted by trying to kill her mom, for example) and runs away so she isn’t imprisoned by her brother. Maybe she tries to take revenge on Zuko but fails and so she doesn’t want to go to prison, go back to the asylum, or have her bending removed. Perhaps she has another psychotic episode and the shame of being returned to the asylum is too much for her to handle. Whatever the reason, she has to be motivated by the fear, anger, resentment and humiliation left over from the finale. Think of what she was feeling during that final scene in Sozin’s Comet. That is what she wants to escape from.

But where does Azula physically go? It has to be somewhere that is experiencing the variety of problems that the rapid end of the war and Zuko’s policies is creating, somewhere she can experience first hand the range of causes that is fomenting trouble in the Fire Nation. Maybe it is a city that benefited economically from the war industry and is now seeing its prosperity decline. Maybe it is an industrial town that has seen all orders dry up and they want their livelihoods back. Maybe it is a locale full of relocated colonials who are unhappy to have been removed from their homes and are struggling to make ends meet due to the strain they are placing on the Fire Nation economy. The options aren’t endless, but it should kill as birds with one stone as possible. For example, an isolated mountain village showing ”traditional” Fire Nation culture is not a suitable place for Azula (or the viewer) to go.

Wherever Azula goes, it has to open her eyes (and ours) to the situation in the Fire Nation, and this leads into the 6th pillar of the season: Azula must discover the major threat brewing in the Fire Nation.

1.6 Pillar #6: Azula Learns the Major Threat Brewing in the Fire Nation

Until this point in the hypothetical Season 4, the primary threat cannot be known. Yes, there have been assassination attempts on Zuko and yes, it has been revealed that there is widespread displeasure toward him, but none of it has been anything that the combined might of Zuko and the people who support him cannot put a lid on, and so far, a lid has been put on it.

The reason the primary threat is not known are: 1) it has been hidden by those who are behind it; 2) members of Zuko’s cabinet have been hiding it/misleading him; and 3) it has been hiding its true intentions behind a benign façade.

The reason Azula is able to discover the primary threat is because only someone who opposes Zuko and wishes him harm would be able to join forces with the people behind the primary threat. A peaceful, obedient, “normal” citizen of the Fire Nation is not going to seek out, or be interested in, ways of taking down the Fire Lord. But Azula would. So when she learns of the existence of this “threat” (a movement, plot, conspiracy, etc.), it appeals to her negative feelings and gives her hope that she can turn back time, that she can rise from the ashes of her shame and humiliation. Only someone with her background and belief in the old regime would be willing to cooperate with such a movement against her country’s imperial leadership. In other words, only a former villain. Zuko can’t do it. Aang can’t do it. Iroh can’t. None of the heroes can. They don’t even know it exists, neither do they have the personalities to associate with the kinds of people actively working to sabotage Zuko’s government. They would oppose immediately. Azula would want to get inside it.

But that isn’t the only reason why Azula is the character through which the primary threat is revealed. She must be the one to reveal it because when she learns the full extent of the primary threat’s goals, she realizes the massive, cataclysmic consequences it poses to the Fire Nation and royal family. Now pillars 1 and 2 are tied together.

A “normal” disgruntled citizen who hates Zuko would go along with the primary threat and trust its leaders, but Azula is not a normal citizen. She is the princess. She can see the big picture. The consequences of the primary threat have to make Azula’s “princess senses” tingle. It has to be something that reminds her of who she is and what her responsibilities are. It has to make her question what she truly wants and how far she is willing to go to get it, if she even still can.

And the heroes don’t know what Azula finds out. Zuko doesn’t know the cataclysmic problem building in his country, but now there is a member of the royal family who does and she holds critical information necessary to either stopping it, or using it to her advantage.

So Azula’s time living amongst her people is ultimately about teaching her (and the viewers) key facts about the Fire Nation’s culture and society that is leading it towards a massive internal conflict, a conflict bad enough that even the resentful, jilted Azula can’t feel comfortable about. Whatever the primary threat is, it is not something she can ignore and this leads to the 7th pillar of the season: Azula must take a side.

1.7 Pillar #7: Azula Takes a Side

The main thrust of Season 4 is beginning to take shape. Zuko’s ongoing journey is to redeem the Fire Nation. He is opposed in his journey by his own citizens who despise him and what he is trying to do. At the same time, the anemic, dysfunctional state of the royal family is harming his legitimacy and requires resolution. He and Azula manage to cooperate with each other in finding their mom, but that too falls apart and Azula disappears. While hiding amongst her people, Azula discovers the truth about what’s happening in the Fire Nation and what she learns is so serious that it spurs her to action. But what will she do with her knowledge? Will she try to use it to her advantage, perhaps by taking over the primary threat from the inside? Will she do nothing and let the Fire Nation burn out of spite and desire to make her enemies pay? Or, will her pride and sense of duty as princess prevail?

All of Azula’s experiences living amongst her people has been to prepare her for this decision (and for the viewer to believe it). Technically, she could make any choice (viewers’ expectations and internal consistency be damned), but keep in mind that Season 4 needs to show us new things. We have already seen Azula as a straight up villain. We’ve already seen Azula and Zuko fight to the death. We’ve already seen Azula defeated, badly. What we haven’t seen is Azula willing submit to Zuko’s will. What we haven’t seen is the fire siblings work together in a big, lasting way that isn’t born out of self-interest (Zuko wanting to earn his father’s love in The Crossroads of Destiny), or ulterior motive (whatever scheme Azula has during the search for their mother, which goes wrong and forces her to run away and become a fugitive). Just as we haven’t seen the Fire Nation that hates Zuko reconcile with him, we haven’t seen Azula reconcile with Zuko.

So there is really only one choice Azula can make. It is the choice that contributes to Zuko’s journey of redeeming the Fire Nation, of rebuilding the royal family and of solving the central conflict of Season 4. It is the 8th and final pillar of Season 4: Zuko and Azula must work together to save the Fire Nation.

1.8 Pillar #8: Zuko and Azula Work Together to Save the Fire Nation

This is the heart and soul of Season 4. It is what everything has been building to. This is why Zuko’s anxieties about the royal family are more than just heartache for him. It is why we have to spend time learning more about Azula. Season 4 is not about having extra adventures for the Gaang. It is not about the events that lead to Republic City and Korra. It is not about having more Iroh and his anecdotes. At its core, Season 4 is about this: it is the story about how the two warring sides of the royal family (represented by Zuko and Azula) become united again, symbolizing the change for good of the Fire Nation.

How exactly they work together depends on the nature of the threat. We know Azula can be fearless, or at least highly confident, and is quite intelligent. Perhaps she infiltrates the threat to act as a double agent, playing both sides until the very end (we know she has the ability to do this given her success at taking control of the Dai Lee). Maybe Zuko uses his reputation as a kindhearted idealist to feign ignorance of Azula’s involvement with the enemy in order to shield her from scrutiny by the heroes and give her credibility amongst his enemies (to maintain the ruse). It can’t be last minute save-the-day though, as Zuko needs enough time to build trust for Azula.

Whatever the details of the conflict and the manner in which it is resolved, the relationship between Zuko and Azula has to be believable and earned. There has to be times of conflict and mistrust between them. There have to be moments where the heroes have to be defended from Azula and where Zuko has to defend Azula from the heroes, but binding them through all of it and tempering the worst of their feelings is the fact that they are both royalty with duties greater than themselves.

By the end, the primary threat should be defeated and no others lay on the horizon. Zuko’s rule should be safe and the future of the royal family certain. No longer will Zuko lament his lack of family, or feel haunted by his past. He will have regained his mother and, for the first time in his life, have someone who he is proud to call his sister. For him, it will feel like turning a new page. The past will truly feel like the past and the future will be unlike anything he has ever experienced.

There will be no doubt that the Fire Nation can achieve the redemption it needs and that Zuko is the one to lead it, but not because he is a good, moral person. Not because he stood up to his father and defeated Azula in the finale. Not because he is a hero who earned a happy ending, but because he made the right decisions as Fire Lord, applied Iroh’s teachings to new situations, stood by what he believed was right even when other heroes doubted him and, finally, because he figured out how to turn a former enemy and member of the old regime into a friend, or at least into a lasting ally.

Azula’s journey will be over and, at last, so will Zuko’s.

2 Summary

To summarize, these are the pillars that must carry Season 4:

1) Zuko’s policies are met by significant resentment and opposition from his own people;

2) The anemic, dysfunctional state of the royal family has major implications for the stability and legacy of Zuko’s rule;

3) Zuko is inspired to find his mom in order to strengthen the royal family;

4) Zuko brings Azula with him to find their mother, both for the sake of his mother and to test the waters on a peaceful relationship with his sister;

5) Azula goes awry on the search, resulting in her escaping/disappearing;

6) While on her own living amongst her people, Azula discovers a massive internal threat brewing in the Fire Nation that she cannot ignore;

7) Azula decides that using this threat to get back at her enemies is not compatible with her values, so she joins forces with Zuko to stop it;

8) And finally, Zuko and Azula work together to stop the threat, thereby setting an example for the rest of the country and healing the rift between the two warring sides of the royal family.

3 Closing Remarks

This framework does not place a limit on the content of Season 4, but clarifies what it must be built from. You’ll notice it says very little about the roles of Aang, Katara, Iroh and so on. That’s because they do not undergo the levels of change that Azula and Zuko must go through. Their journeys were over at the end of the series, whereas Zuko’s and Azula’s were not. At the same time, it is Zuko and Azula who have to work together to resolve the conflict, or more specifically, Azula who has to learn to work with Zuko. That is a major change on her part. In order to sell this to the viewer, adequate time must be given to its development.

The Gaang needs to be involved, but what they do and the changes they undergo have to be in the context of the eight pillars and central conflict, or else their actions become extraneous filler and fluff. For example, Kataang is not furthered for the sake of fanservice, but because strengthening their relationship is the result of their teamwork in solving the story’s problems. At the same time, Iroh is not present because we like Iroh, but because he is a member of the royal family, has a checkered relationship with the war, split allegiances (White Lotus vs. Fire Nation) and apparently pessimistic view of his niece (i.e. Ursa’s daughter). Is Ursa going to appreciate, “She’s crazy and needs to go down?” Iroh must be tied to the troubles of the Fire Nation and its royal family.

This depiction of Season 4 appears heavy on Azula. In short, this is because she has the most to reveal about the Fire Nation and has the most change to undergo. Essentially, she has to go on a journey, and journeys require time. In that sense, Season 4 could be thought of as being 1/3rd Zuko & the Heroes, 1/3rd Azula on her own, and 1/3rd Zuko, Azula, & and the heroes.

A final word about how to handle Azula: you can’t be too nice to her. You have to sell her importance to the heroes and not assume people are going to care about her. In fact, that’s how any character should work, but in the case of a former villain, you have to work even harder at it. This makes Azula’s involvement in the season the most radical, but also the most intriguing.

If you’re familiar with the Fire Nation comics (The Promise, The Search, and Smoke & Shadow), you’ll notice the parallels and deviations this framework has with them. It is quite apparent that Bryke were thinking along these lines when they brainstormed the comics, but for whatever reasons, they failed to follow through.

The way to understand this framework—these “pillars” that support Season 4—is to look at them as universal to the franchise. They come from the internal logic, unresolved issues and established themes of the show. If, for instance, Bryke got abducted by aliens and Nickelodeon had to hire new showrunners to make a 4th season, the new showrunners would find this story inherent to the source material whether they were prior fans of Avatar or not.

We’ll probably never get this story, but as fans we are free to speculate and devise our own scenarios in order to keep the entertainment value of Avatar alive. If you agree with this framework, you now have a method for developing the details of how Avatar can be continued past Aang’s journey in a way that is compelling, full of heart, and builds upon what was left behind.

The craving you felt for more Avatar at the end of the show was not you being a ravenous fan who couldn’t accept that their plate was empty. It was recognizing the potential for a story that has not been fulfilled.

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