runephoenix6769:

I think Azula is one of the most enigmatic, fascinating and fantastically well written characters that has ever  graced our screens. 

I also think she is rather misunderstood by people that just write her off as “the crazy Fire Princess”

Whilst she is being painted as the villain, we get the slow burn of why she is that way. 

From a young age she was a Fire Prodigy which caught the eye of her Father. Who began grooming her for war and Royal duties, 

 Azula showed cruelty as a child and acted out to gain her mothers attention as it was the in which way she gained attention from her Father so in her head, why wouldn’t the same work for Mother.. She also did not know that her Mother wished her goodbye, as she was asleep and so grew up believing Ursa didn’t care. cementing the feeling that Ursa favored Zuko over her. 

Her Father manipulated, physically punished any who defied him, or for any infraction. Anything less than perfect was not tolerated. Azula would have witnessed this as he berated Zuko for his apparent lack of skill, pushing herself to strive for perfection. 

It seemed Azula received little, if no loving , nurturing affection at all

Failure, again something Ozai would not tolerate. Azula spent her whole life expected to accept the responsibilities of an Adult. andd be exceptional in every way The only way she could gain any sort of attention (not affection) from Ozai was through success. 

He sent Azula to Ba Sing Se genuinely not expecting her to succeed where others had failed.. Remember, Ozai never took on a fight he would personally lose and also set Zuko the impossible task of finding the Avatar.. He constantly gas lit his daughtter

Yet time and again, she delivered. She was a genius military strategist, yes manipulative and sometimes cruel, keeping in mind she was raised to believe that she was better than anyone else, and had accomplished things due to her sheer brilliance  which would only bolster that ego, She played games of wits with those around her because she was genuinely bored and more than likely the most intelligent person in the room. 

She threatened punishment, she never killed unless in the heat of battle. She figured out a way to take over Ba Sing Se with relatively little bloodshed

We must also remember , she was 14! 

If we think back, she had no one to socialize   with as a child. until she attended the Fire Academy for Girls meeting Mai and Ty Lee . At Ember Island we see how painfully socially awkward she is at the party, completely out of her depth as she has no idea how to interact with people her own age or without using her position as Fire Princess to bully them into submission, hence sparking the jealousy towards Ty Lee. 

A reaction of a teenager that has had the epiphany that nobody likes her, for her, something she has always suspected and a whole litany of insecurities, inadequacies , she lashes out, and surprisingly apologies. 

Namely because it’s Ty Lee! (who seems to be the only person who genuinely gives a crap about her) 

We also see Azula’s compassion towards Ty Lee, 

Which brings us to the Boiling Rock and where things really begin to unravel. Azula stops a torture routine, understanding intimidation works better. 

Mai makes the choice to save Zuko. but it’s Ty Lee that does the interesting thing. 

(Some people tthink she chooses Mai over Azula, I think she chooses Azula over Azula) 

Ty Lee stops Azula doing something not a single one of them would ever come back from. If Azula had gone through with it, she would have become the Monster she already thought she was.. 

Ty Lee saves Azula from Azula by stopping her doing something she would later regret. Again Azula shows compassion by having them imprisoned rather than executed.

Now back tot the betrayal, what Ozai would see as bad judgement on his daughter’s part. He once more brushes her off and shuts her out of meetings and his plans, she is no longer his confidant, to someone her craves her Fathers approval, she feels as if she is being cast aside, adding that to the betrayal of her friend who made her feel powerless by chi blocking her, this is devastating.

She has no one! She has no Uncle Iroh! She is surrounded by sycophants and neophytes.

She has no friends, no one she can trust or rely on, she has never been on the receiving end of any sort of love (that she can see, ) She will never forgive someone stopping her from doing the unforgivable. 

. She is a a paranoid teenage girl, with abandonment issues, trust issues, a perfectionist, child soldier, with no support system, who has had her last vestiges of trust annihilated, she is lonely, and had it drummed into her to never show weakness in any shape or form. 

 Her whole world collapses around her in a matter of weeks. Everything her Father built her to be, his weapon of war, her purpose for being. Every breath leading to this mapped out destiny, means nothing as its gone. 

Leading to the heart wrenching, scene between her, Zuko and Katara. Azula’s mental break down was one of the hardest scenes to watch and you would have to be a cold stone bastard not to have that tug on your heart strings. 

This multi layered character, this poor child is not just having a tantrum. Its Pain, its loss, its fear of disappointing her father. Its her world being turned on its head. Its the humiliation of her defeat by a ‘dirty water peasant’ Its the howl of someone who finally cant do this anymore. 

Is really is one of the few villains on tv that you genuinely feel for!

She needs a huge hug!! 

(p.s I do think Ty Lee genuinely liked Azula and wasn’t half as dumb as she lets on, she was kinda afraid of Azula but knew she could turn her into a boneless fish any time she wanted. Was also hoping with the comics that Azula would eventually chill the hell out, maybe find herself a nice wife n find somethihng to do at court)