In the final episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2, Azula’s lightning strike takes down Aang, nearly killing him. Before Azula could finish her job, Iroh facilitated the Gaang’s escape, allowing Katara to treat his wounds using her Waterbending skills. However, the Fire Nation believed that the last Airbender was gone for good this time. In the first episode of Season 3, Azula gives credit to Zuko for taking down Aang when they met their father Fire Lord Ozai.
Avatar director Giancarlo Volpe revealed that it was Azula’s evil plan that motivated her to give Zuko the credit. Volpe shared that Azula was actually passing the blame as she knew about the possibility that Aang may reemerge after getting healed by Katara.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Director Explains Why Azula Gives Up Credit For Killing Aang
Avatar: The Last Airbender director Giancarlo Volpe joined voice actors Janet Varney and Dante Basco in their podcast Avatar: Braving The Elements. In the episode, they discussed season 3’s opening episode where Azula decided to give Zuko the credit for taking down Aang when meeting Ozai. Volpe explained Azula’s motivation behind this decision and it is as evil as Azula’s other deeds toward her elder brother.
Volpe shared the entire scenario from the perspective of Azula in the story. He shared that Azula had the perfect opportunity to take down Aang and she nailed him in the back, probably hitting his heart. Azula was almost sure of her success and even thought about bragging about it to her brother, but then Katara swooped in and took Aang away.
Azula knew about the possibility of Katara healing Aang with her Waterbending ability. Azula came up with a strategy to clear her name in the worst case that Aang escaped once again and decided to pass on the credit/blame to Zuko. Volpe shared on Braving the Elements:
“Of course, she’s thinking she’s not gonna go back to dad and say, ‘Dad, I’m so sorry. I had the Avatar dead to rights and I could have killed him, but Katara swooped in at the last minute, and I think she had healing water.’ ‘Cause that’d make her look bad, but if she goes, ‘Zuko finally got something right and killed the Avatar…'”
Volpe continued about Azula’s strategy:
“Now, Fire Lord is like, ‘Wow! What a surprise, Zuko of all people?’ And then when we find out he’s still alive, ‘Of course Zuko screwed that up’ is what Ozai’s gonna think. This is the chess board that Azula is working with.”
Throughout the series, Azula shows a pattern of abusive behavior towards her brother, which probably resulted from dysfunctional parenting. In the animated series, Azula was voiced by Grey DeLisle and Zuko was voiced by Dante Basco.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Netflix Version May Expand On Azula’s Arc
While the psychopathic Azula gets her minor redemption arc at the end of the animated series, there is much to be desired from her character arc. Azula’s actions toward her elder brother Zuko stemmed from the hatred that her father injected into her from a young age. The sequel comics to the animated series show Zuko teaming up with Azula to find Ursa and the brother’s compassion somewhat changes Azula’s mind.
The Netflix live-action version will expand on the character’s arc, tapping into details that the animated series avoided. While Azula and Zuko’s rivalry will remain intact, the ending might be more satisfying in the live-action series if executed properly. Elizabeth Yu plays Azula and Dallas James Liu plays Zuko in the Netflix series.
Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series is now available for streaming on Netflix and Paramount+.
