A case study of Avatar: The Last Airbender’s villain, Azula.
By: Vianca 11.1
*This article contains spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender. *
‘Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the fire nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of the four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him the most, he vanished.’
With a record-breaking 61 days in Netflix America’s Top 10, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko’s cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender continues to convey its relevancy 17 years after its run-time. The show follows the journey of the long-lost Avatar, Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) and his development as he learns the mastery of the four elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air to defeat the imperialist Fire Nation. Running from 2005-2008, the cartoon incorporates many influences from Asian media and culture whilst simultaneously addressing large issues such as oppression, genocide, corruption and mental health. With its meticulous world building, astounding animation, and social resonance it is not a surprise that this show continues to sway the hearts of millions across the globe. To this day, many viewers continue to delve deep within the lore of the universe, uncovering symbolisms that would otherwise go unnoticed by children. It is not uncommon to find entire channels dedicated to praising the world building of the show nor is it unusual to find hours long video essays on YouTube analyzing a single character. Long story short: Avatar is a beloved series with much to uncover beneath its “children’s show” façade.
Firstly, it is important to address some context before diving deep into the content that Avatar provides. The context being… evil minions. Although evil minions are a common feature to an antagonist’s posse, they can be quite undermined by viewers, normally being overlooked as an accessory rather than as an asset. Evil minions, if written correctly, can produce another dimension to the antagonist’s personality- giving them another persona outside of just being ‘the bad guy’. It is also worth noting that evil minions always have a reason for their service, whether it may be reliant on loyalty, personal gains, fear or love and it is easy for them to leave the person they are following or be discarded because of this. As the hierarchy of villains tend to rely on servitude, it becomes easier to grasp an antagonist’s personality outside of their binary relationship with the hero through the way they treat those who are “lesser than them”.
In Avatar’s instance, there are many characters that serve under Fire Lord Ozai (Mark Hamil) in the minion capacity, each of them with differing reasons. Azula (Grey De Lisle) specifically is an interesting example of this as she serves for the sake of love and acceptance from her father. Her first and formal appearance in the series was in The Siege of the North, Part 2, the final episode of Book One: Water in which she was introduced during the final minute of the scene. Although no words were spoken, her presence is explained through the sly glint in her eyes as she intently listens to her father condemning both her brother and uncle for being “failures”. The lack of compassion shown can also be seen in her first appearance as a character in the background as she watches her own father burn Zuko’s eye with amusement. This idea of tolerance for pain, control, and power are things that not only sound familiar but are, as the main antagonist himself identifies with these exact qualities. In true narcissistic fashion, Ozai models perfection off of himself- classifying power, control, outstanding fire abilities and even symmetry as aspects of the ideal person and everything outside of such as a weakness. Azula fits all of these categories, gaining both her father’s attention and “love,” making her perfect for the role of a minion to his ruthless plans.
Her character reaches far beyond moral redemption as can be seen in the episodes, Zuko Alone and in The Crossroads of Destiny where she nearly ends the Avatar cycle, destroying the only way to maintain order within the universe. It’s interesting to think how this 14-year-old girl develops in such a way similar to villains twice her age all because of her upbringing. Despite the mirrored characterization to her father, he ruthlessly discards of her in Sozin’s Comet Part 1: The Phoenix King as soon as he reaches his final goal, explicitly showing truly how selfish he is- finally tearing into the refined sculpture he had spent 14 years crafting.
‘You think I’m a monster.’
The iconic beginning of Azula’s tragic end. The moment where the calculating prodigy reveals her utmost insecurities and traumas in the face of a hallucination of her own mother. She begins to unravel, presenting how deep the trauma from her childhood truly ran, cutting her perfectly symmetrical hair in frustration whilst saying the line, “Alright hair, it’s time you meet your doom.” The intricate characterization of this moment proves the importance of symmetry to both her and her father and the depth of Ozai’s influence on her behavior. She had found it difficult to socially interact with others due to her control centric world view yes, but for him to even influence her perception of how symmetry is the only perfect way to be only increases how narcissistic and uncompassionate he was. She thought she was becoming a failure, the antithesis to her father’s ideologies, like her brother.
Avatar: The Last Airbender explores Azula’s scenario in great detail, using her narrative to add depth against the regular, binary format of a hero and their villain whilst exploring the mental health of a 14-year-old “miracle-child”, breaking unspoken taboos within children’s media. It is no wonder why this show continues to make an appearance 17 years past its runtime.
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