“Leaves from the vine Falling so slow Like fragile tiny shells Drifting in the foam Little soldier boy Come marching home Brave soldier boy Comes marching home”
Honestly what freaked me out the most in this scene wasn’t monk gyatso’s skeleton – we pretty much expected that. What freaked me out was all the firebender skeletons.
Monk gyatso was always portrayed as a light-hearted, peaceful man, both from roku and aang’s perspective (the most aggressive thing we see him do is drop pie on the other elders). Aang’s teachings of “respecting all life” almost undoubtedly came from gyatso, which is why it’s so hard to picture him killing all these people, even during a crisis.
The other thing that I wonder about is why were the only bodies found around him? Sokka found a helmet, but that’s not the same as a skeleton – it could have easily been lost in the confusion of the attack. So it begs the question: was gyatso the only airbender to fight back? Was he the only one who broke the airbender code of non violence? Did he die thinking he’d rather go down fighting then be executed like the others? I need to know what happened during the genocide
See now for me, this always made perfect sense. That temple was full of children, and I have no doubt that nearly every able adult in that temple would do absolutely anything to protect those children.
In the comics, we see Aang kill General Old Iron to protect Toph, so it’s obvious that airbenders will and can kill if pushed to it to defend others that they care about. So I think that it makes sense that the Monks and Nuns at the temples would have broken from their own beliefs in defense of the children they undoubtedly loved.
As Avatar Yangchen said: “Selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to protect the world.“ And I think that philosophy would be stretched to protecting children.
What surprises me most in this scene is the sheer number of bodies around him. It really illustrates how powerful airbending masters can be. All of those soldiers were (presumably) firebenders with their powers all hopped up on Sozin’s Comet, and an elderly, pacifistic monk managed to kill them all.
Can we talk about this scene
for a minute? Because I tear up literally every damn time I watch it.
After losing his son, Iroh
fought tirelessly to save his nephew from Ozai’s brainwashing, no matter how
hard Zuko tried to push him away. But even after years of sticking by him
through every dead end and reckless gambit, Zuko still goes back to his psychotic father. Once
again, Iroh couldn’t save his son and it just kills him.
Then the kid shows up with team Avatar, because it turns out
some of those proverbs got through to him after all.
But the part that really gets me is Zuko’s perspective.
Sitting outside that tent,
he’s so damn scared. He’s so convinced Iroh hates him, he won’t even go in
without a pep talk from Katara. Everyone else can see that Iroh will be proud
of what his nephew has done since they last met, but Zuko can’t. When Zuko goes
in to see the family he disappointed, he’s braced for yelling and fire and rage
because that’s what he’s been raised to expect when he screws up. Pissing off
his father got him disgraced, burned, tossed in the street, told he didn’t
deserve to be alive, and shot at with lightening. A lifetime of experience says
he should be
scared. He doesn’t expect to be forgiven, he just wants Iroh to know he’s
sorry.
And then Iroh’s not even mad. NOT EVEN MAD.
Mercy and compassion are so alien to Zuko that immediate forgiveness wasn’t
even a remote possibility. He’s so utterly confused, but at the same time, so,
so relieved. He hasn’t lost his only family. The only person who stayed by him
all those years in exile. The only father who loved him.
They both thought they’d lost
the only family they had left. Instead, they find themselves closer than
they’ve ever been. And I tear up every damn time.
My father says Azula 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. That’s made me who I am.
Mashups and Exports 