Lady Business

Great post! Only there was one thing I greatly disagreed with.

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***GIANT SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL OF SERIES!!!***
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I actually love the fact that Azula became insane at the end. I might be a little less familiar with the typical plotlines and characterizing as you seem to be, but I saw it as realistic, intriguing and a great and surprising narrative.

The reason for this might be that I've had a bit of a different view on all of the royal family than you seemed to have. You're saying that you're a bit disappointed that Azula seems depoliticized throughout the series, but I think that's perfectly in line with her character. It's like what she told Long Feng (head of the Dai Li) at the end of season two, 'real power you're born into' (or something like that). She doesn't do politics, politics and politicians are far beneath her, she simply demands and all should follow her. Honestly, the way Fire Lords are revered throughout the series reminds me more of the ancient pharaohs than anything else.

That's the part where I find her madness realistic. Though it had never really been hinted at in the series (for obvious reasons), I've always had the idea that there must've been a lot of interbreeding within the Fire Nation Royal circles (as well as in the Earth Kingdom Royal Family) because they are so far elevated above even other important nobles. The fire lord and his (or her) family seem almost to be viewed as demigods. Now I don't claim to have any real knowledge of psychology, but in fiction and in reality there are a lot of instances where long-term interbreeding cause all types of mental illnesses. That combined with the worshiping the must experience daily and the absolute power and authority they have at their hands, it's no wonder many of the royal family are crazy.

Because it's not only Azula. Ozai is obviously a complete sociopath/psychopath with serious anger-management issues and who has convinced himself power is always self-justifying and that having absolute power means that whatever he does or decides is right. I think he even literally says so in the first part of The Promise, though I am not sure. The fire lord has a divine right to rule, and is always right. He's far above any kind of justification.

Zuko, talking mainly season 1 Zuko here, has pretty much the same ideas as his father, he has no account or responsibility because he is far above anything else in the world, but his father, who is the only person above him. That's the reason he's such an arrogant, selfish prick. That's also the reason he keeps believing for a very long time that his father was completely justified of scarring and banishing his own son. His father couldn't be wrong, because he was the fire lord, so it must have been his own fault. And although he is no psychopath, his entirely reckless dedication, obsessive and jealous personality and paranoia could be seen as his own form of craziness. He even had his own variation of 'hallucinations', both when he was alone in the desert and during his mystical fever. If Iroh hadn't been there to guide him on his journey, I shudder to think what would've have become of Zuko.

And Azula obviously is already a sociopath and pathological liar long before she starts seeing things, proven by the fact that Toph can't tell her lies from truth. No wonder, between her unfortunate parentage and her upbringing. You can also clearly see that during 'The Beach', where Zuko continues to be inept at conversing, Azula turns out to be ten times worse in a casual setting. But secretly, she has always longed for some human connection she missed from her parents, and when her only friends betray her, rendering her alone, no wonder she declines even further.

And now, finally, the part why I think her absolute fall is narratively strong. I've always seen Azula and Zuko as mirrors of each other, I think they are very much alike, and had things played out differently, either one could have become the other. They've shared their entire upbringing and have witnessed both the harsh, unforgiving hand of their father and the disappearance of their mother, only from a different perspective. Zuko is dismissed by his father as useless, which gave him the chance to find himself and defy the views he grew up with with Iroh's helping hand. Azula, meanwhile, succeeds in winning her father's approval, which Zuko always desperately sought, only to lose her mother's love in the process and stay caught in the harsh world view Zuko has escaped from. Where Zuko overcomes the inner demons of their shared youth, Azula succumbs beneath them. It makes me very sad to think about it, but I do think her very tragic ending is a good contrast to all the happiness the victory brings.

I know I'm posting this 4 years after date and that it's much to long, but I felt I had to make a reply. :)