!!!NEW REVIEW!!!
it is one of life's greatest tragedies that Norm McCabe only ever directed three Daffy cartoons, and Daffy's Southern Exposure is a stunning example as to why. for being the first time he's ever worked with the character in a directorial role, McCabe sure demonstrated a clear understanding of the character. at some of his most charming, cognizant and interactive yet, Daffy completely steals the show in this first of many shorts chronicling his refusal to fly south. yet, as it just so turns out, he isn't the only one desperate and starving--a wolf and weasel, having grown tired of their exclusive bean-only diet, take a particular liking to their new duck dinner, which doesn't go as expected.
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Unpopular Opinion: Ursa's parenting negatively affected Zuko
One of the fascinating things about the ATLA fandom is that people are utterly uninterested in analyzing how Ursa's parenting really screwed up Zuko, even though it's pretty clear. I don't mean to attack Ursa here, because I think she had good intentions, but, although her parenting was far better than Ozai's, it contributed to Zuko's many poor decisions.
I've given a broader coverage to values Ursa extols to her children elsewhere. The general point you should take away from that is that Ursa was critical in instilling imperialist values in her children and in teaching them to respect/obey the Firelord.
However, that's not the point I will belabor here. I want to turn to something else. Let's take a look closely at the scene where Zuko tries to perform Azula's firebending routine in front of his grandfather and his father but falls flat on his face:
Ozai frowns at this news. Zuko starts off well, doing the same circular motions as Azula earlier. He manages to produce a small fire blast, which does not impress Fire Lord Azulon. When he tries to create another one, he falls. He gets back up, panting heavily, and tries again, only to fall harder. Ursa gets up worriedly and approaches Zuko to comfort him.
Young Zuko: I failed.
Ursa: No. I loved watching you. That's who you are, Zuko. Someone who keeps fighting even though it's hard.
The lesson that Zuko learns from Ursa here is that his gift is stubborn persistence and that he should never stop trying to meet the toxic expectations of the Fire Nation royal court and of his father(she also might have inadvertently encouraged the Zuko-Azula sibling rivalry).
How do we know this is what Zuko took away from this? These scenes are paired together at the end of "Zuko Alone," as Zuko struggles to defeat Gow:
In the flashback, Zuko is sleeping in his room at night when a hand gently touches his shoulder. He awakens drowsily to see his mother dressed in a cloak.
Young Zuko: … Mom?
Ursa: Zuko, please, my love, listen to me. Everything I've done, I've done to protect you.
She pulls the barely conscious Zuko into a hug.
Ursa: Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.
and this scene:
Gow: Who ... who are you?
Zuko:My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne.
Old man: Liar! I heard of you! You're not a prince, you're an outcast! His own father burned and disowned him!
Zuko took Ursa's advice to never give up and never forget who he was to heart, and as a result even though he's been burned, banished, and declared a traitor, even though he objectively has no real chance of getting his status and Ozai's favor back at this point, Zuko is still trying to do that and refuses to let go of his long-lost position in the Fire Nation as crown prince. The smart thing to do would be to give up and move on, but Zuko refuses to do that.
We can also turn to what Zuko says to Aang in "The Siege of the North, II":
Zuko: I finally have you, but I can't get you home because of this blizzard. [Stands up and looks outside the cave.] There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am.
All of this brings me back to my main point. Ozai might have been the one who burned and banished Zuko, who abused him and declared him a traitor, who demanded that Zuko capture the Avatar, but Ursa is the one who taught Zuko the persistence that made him chase after legends for three years, that made him take reckless risk after reckless risk, that made him continue chasing the Avatar even after Ozai was having him hunted as a traitor across the Earth Kingdom.
The biggest problem in Zuko's life is that he refuses to let go of his dream of regaining Ozai's favor, that he refuses to accept that Ozai doesn't love and move on and find something better to center his life around, and from what we see Ursa played a huge role in this, because she taught Zuko to never give up trying fulfilling the expectations of Ozai and the court, no matter how many times he failed. Ursa wasn't intending ill, but her parenting had a huge negative effect on Zuko's life.
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I literally got the *worst* illness I've had in about 20 years for my 30th birthday. Happy birthday to me, Holy shit
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