Avatar: The Last Airbender/Headscratchers/The Finale: Difference between revisions

*** Yes, disqualification. It's still an official duel, because it's presented as a challenge explicitly as Agni Kai. That means it's under whatever the Code Duello is in the Fire Nation--and there's nothing to suggest that Agni Kais normally have a method to prevent "accidental" death--it's a duel where you're ''hurling fireballs at each other''. Death is probably an implied, and expected, possibility.

*** If there was any disqualification, it was on Azula's part when she attacked Katara in the first place.

 

* When Sokka, Toph, and Suki infiltrate one of the Fire Nation airships, Toph uses metal armor to protect herself from the firebending. Shouldn't she have been badly burned since metal is a good heat conductor?

** I think benders can control over the temperature of the element they're bending on some level. That would also explain waterbenders' ability to switch between ice/water and Azula's ability to switch between blue/orange fire as well.

*** You're also not taking into account that that metal was on a Fire Nation airship. If the ship is powered by firebenders, it would stand to reason that the metal, which, as mentioned above, was very thick, would be designed to absorb minimal heat.

* In the finale, couldn't Katara just have bloodbended Azula into submission instead of running around the palace until she found a chain? Even if she has objections to bloodbending, she's been shown using it when she really has to, or is really pissed off, such as against Hama and the retired Southern Raider captain.

** She ''didn't'' care about them. Azula is all about controlling every aspect of her life. She trusted that Mai and Ty Lee could be ''controlled'', not that they were her friends. She knew that Mai didn't like her, and expected Mai to do treacherous things. Mai betrayed her for Zuko's sake, and Ty Lee proved that she'd side with Mai over Azula any day (in Azula's head, anyway). Second, she's about perfection. In her first episode, she redoes a kata that was executed purposely, because one of her hairs was out of place (See also: Katara slicing her hair in the Season 2 Finale, and then Azula butchering her own hair in Season 3 finale). She strives to ''be'' perfect, by any means necessary. That's her [[Fatal Flaw]]. After Mai and Ty Lee betrayed her, she suddenly finds Zuko able to fight her to a standstill in every encounter they had, and then ''defeat her'' in the end. Third, [[Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas|Even Azula Loves Her Mama]]. And she always thought that her mother liked Zuko more than her. And as of ''The Boiling Rock,'' She ''knows'' that Mai likes Zuko over her. That opened up the mommy wound from the [[Beach Episode]]. So she connects all of this in her mind: ''Zuko's the reason I lost control over Mai, as well as the reason that mommy left me. Now Zuko is better than me, where did I go wrong, now my hair's not listening to me I can't trust anyone OMGBLARG!''

*** ...I still don't get it. Going by your line of reasoning, the cause of all her problems and imperfections is Zuko, so shouldn't she just want to kill him even more (thus ridding her of imperfection)? I fail to see how "Zuko is the cause of my problems" translates into "everyone is untrustworthy, randomly banish innocent people". Shouldn't it be "I will torture him to death while laughing" instead?

** This troper thinks that, in addition to the aforementioned Zuko issues, it may have had something to do with Ozai's becoming the Phoenix King. With him in charge of the entire world, the position of Fire Lord is now kind of defunct...a governor, if you will, at best. It's not unreasonable to assume that she had wanted to be Fire Lord her whole life, and when she finally gets it, it doesn't really "count" anymore? Seems like that would push her just a little bit closer to the edge.

*** This troper thinks that you're on the right track, but there's more to it than that. Azula is [[Daddy's Little Villain]] through and through; she's dedicated her life to pleasing her father. Her [[Mommy Issues]] were all created because she acted sociopathically amoral and without love ''because Ozai taught her too'', and she had how he treated Zuko as a contrast. And just when she thinks she's proved herself to him once and for all, that she's done ''everything'' right, he tells her that she can't come with him to the final battle, because she has to stay at home and basically be a governor. She's sacrificed everything for this man who doesn't seem to care about her much at all.

*** Reinstall the guy with no Firebending? Reinstall the girl gibbering in a padded cell? As of the end of the series there are only two people of the royal Fire Nation bloodline who are physically capable of acting as sovereign, and they're both on the Avatar's side. Their rebellion has no claimants to back.

**** Monarchs always want to have more than one child, in case something happens to their first kid. Sozin and Azulon probably had siblings, so I'm sure that Ozai has cousins, second cousins, etc. who could claim the throne.

*** Yeah, you know the whole "no firebending" and "in a padded cell" thing? That happens '''after''' the battle is effectively over. Iroh and the White Lotus are old and wise, ''but they're not clairvoyant.'' They'll have no way of knowing that Aang is going to strip Ozai of his firebending or that Azula will go nuts. All they know is that there's a huge number of Fire Nation troops in Ba Sing Se, and they'll cause trouble if they're not dealt with, and may attempt to reinstall either Ozai or Azula. Ozai loses his firebending and Azula goes completely nuts after the Lotus made the decision to focus on Ba Sing Se.

*** Um, the White Lotus was ''entirely aware'' that Aang was going to take on Ozai, and Zuko & Katara were going after Azula. It was all part of a coordinated attack plan. The overall scheme assumed that all three mission teams would be successful... which, yes, is somewhat minus on "plan B", but its the last hour before the apocalypse and its all down to the band of plucky heroes to save the world, that's not exactly uncommon in such situations.

*** Also, Zuko didn't actually stage a coup against Azula. She challenged him to a duel for the title of Firelord and forfeited the duel when she attacked Katara. Forfeiture counts as a loss, so Zuko won the duel and the right to be Firelord.

**** I always assumed that the main reason that a de-powered Ozai isn't a threat is that the Fire Nation seems to have an [[Asskicking Equals Authority]] mindset; every high-ranking officer we've seen has been a Firebender, and usually a powerful one, at that. It's entirely likely that a non-Firebender wouldn't even be considered eligible for the throne, much less have enough support to claim it.

* Near the end, when all the nations are gathered to hear Zuko and Aang's speech, we see The Duke hug Toph. I could understand if he likes her or they like each other, but nothing about that was ever explained before or after! I doubt it was just a friendly hug because he was eight or so and I don't think he would be giving girl a friendly hug.

** She puked in his helmet. At his suggestion. Bonding.

****** Also, ''someone'' needs to claim the empty throne, and I doubt the Fire Sages would crown Azula, given her being literally foaming at mouth insane.

****** The other Agni Kai we saw showed it was a Man to Man (or to girl) Firebending battle. Anything beyond that is cheating, thus losing. She attacked Katara, the referee or something. That should count as cheating in any kind of honorable duel, which the Agni Kai is.

** Anyone who's read [[A Song Of Fire And Ice]] knows "honor" is all well and good as an ideal to strive for, but it's secondary to making the practical decision and ''not'' putting an insane and vicious 14-year-old on the throne. No matter what the rules of Agni Kai are, if the people don't want a paranoid nutbag to arbitrarily banish them, they'll chuck notions of "honor" out the window and support the person who isn't ''rolling around on the ground and screaming like a crazy person''.

* Comets are made of ice. Why would a dirty snowball from space enhance firebending, of all things? Sozin's ''Asteroid'' would make more sense.