#he's set up almost immediately against zhao. he's countered with his sympathetic kindly uncle

[shopcat]

as much as i enjoy conceptually the whole Everyone finds out how zuko got his scar tropey thing bc i agree it's a strange little knowledge gap for them to have to be happily exploited for like, patting him on the head, but i also feel like it's just like. well OBVIOUSLY it's an excuse to throw some love at him which is good and i like it but when people use it as a way to like ... have people tell him it was Wrong and Bad well that's just stupid. the literal entire point of his confrontation with ozai during the eclipse is zuko TELLING his father that himself and then leaving to follow his own path. it's one of his biggest moments as a character and IS his most defining moment of deciding to take a stand against his father. like he knows it was bad he came to that conclusion himself he literally even said it was cruel!!! "how could you possibly justify duelling a child. it was cruel and it was wrong"!!!! he doesn't need people telling him Child Abuse Is Bad Zuko like. he knows. it's kind of part of his whole arc.

#🐾 #it's honestly crazy how people can see a character who spent honestly the vast majority of all 3 seasons coming to terms with EVERYTHING #about his place in the war about his family about his father about who he is as a person and what he needs to do #overcoming the indoctrination. letting go of the need for his fathers Approval. and realising he was wrong BY HIMSELF!! #when he says as well that he had to come to the conclusion ON HIS OWN!! .. WHEN he was banished #and then just be like. we need to tell him #like Oh my god.. he knows ... #the thing about that trope that makes it interesting is how he got his scar is a significant and also defining part of who he is #via the snowballing results. and his friends who he had been you know hunting not knowing that huge part of him is like DUDE #but i honestly kind of like it as well like i dunno that's why it's so interesting #people literlalt lvoe zuko bc of his you know. entire character. it's not just because he's sometimes funny or silly #and you're meant to love his character and his ''redemption arc'' wasn't a true redemption arc or maybe it's just the best one on earth #well it probably is ngl. bc from the very beginning you're meant to be rooting for him #he's set up almost immediately against zhao. he's countered with his sympathetic kindly uncle #we learn and it is INTEGRAL!!! that we learn that he got hurt when he spoke out specifically on the behalf of innocent people #in an act that was ultimately futile bc they were torn up in the war machine. #like i don't know believe me zuko knows Why the war is bad and Why his dad is bad specifically that's the whole damn point #walks away kicking a can #child abuse mention