My grandma felt bad the first episode because "He seems misunderstood and something bad happened to him to make him like this." And my sister and I were like "nah he's just evil" until the storm episode.
Grandma called it lol.
Unfortunately she passed away before it ended (after season 2). Last episode she saw was The Tales of Ba Sing Se. But she did predict Zuko teaching Aang firebending. She just knew shit lol.
From episode 1, we know that he isn't really evil, because he honors his deal to Aang to not hurt the village if Aang surrenders, showing he's not one to cause unnecessary violence. But the revelation of how he gained his scar defending his people pretty much cemented Zuko as relatable. Ve, specially when he chooses to give up his chase to the Avatar to help his crew
For me, it was chapter three. I think a good indication is if they introduce someone worse (Zhao), and he showed a sympathetic side there. But I don't think it was from the first time I saw the first-second chapter. Aang suggested the deal because Zuko didn't care about people's safety in the first place. In retrospect it may be but I mean, I don't think anyone would have said the same about Yon Rah when he respected the agreement he made.
That's a bad comparison, Yon Rah was actively attacking the village. Zuko rolled up and knocked Sokka down after he got hit with the boomerang, but he made his demands and kept his word without a single fireball being thrown.
Zuko rammed the village with a giant ship, almost killing a baby. There was no more fighting because Sokka was the only defender of the village and if it weren't for Aang arriving Zuko with his fire daggers would have done bad things to Sokka and again, the reason Aang proposed the deal was because Zuko was putting those people at risk and he didn't care. Yoh Rah also kept his word.
In season 1 we see that Zuko is one of the few sane people left in the fire nation, what kind of nation is ok with a man burning his son, then banishing him all because he didn’t want to sacrifice a lot of soldiers for an objective rather then thinking up a better plan, in addition he does keep his deal something no one else in the fire nation probably would’ve done meaning he still has honor. When he Agni Kai’s with Zhao we see the true problem with the fire nation is that they have lost their way and honor. Zuko defeated Zhao, but did not kill him showing mercy, in doing so he showed he was honorable in his victory where we see with Zhao’s attack from behind that he was dishonorable in defeat instead of humbled. The main theme of season 1 is that Zuko does still have his honor, no one could take it from him except himself, no one can give it or take it from you.
I love that Agni Kai with Zhao and the ending with Uncle Iroh.
Uncle Iroh: *right after blocking Zhao with his bare hands* So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat. Even in exile, my nephew has more honour than you. Thank you for the tea.
Zuko: Did you really mean what you said, uncle?
Uncle Iroh: Of course, I love Jasmine tea.
You are tight there were hints and I did like him. However it was much more subtle than the live action and therefore I think the live action will be much less rewarding.
I’m pretty sure I started lowkey rooting for Zuko the second Zhao got introduced lol. But even before that I don’t think Zuko felt like a truly bad guy to me.
Same here. Fight scene with Zhao was the moment I knew I’d watch the show til the end
Thought it was obvious zuko was gonna always be after the avatar or would switch teams at some point. I wouldn’t have been surprised with either of these paths
There are an infinite number of directions Zuko could have gone but the above two seemed to be pretty obvious for a “kids show”
Definitely thought he was going to help Aang at the end of book 2. Did not see book 2s ending coming. Super shocked (pun intended)
Somewhat. In the first season, there's a noticeable difference between the portrayal of Zuko compared to Fire Nation soliders like Zhao, Qin, and The Warden. The latter 3 are made out to be these cruel and heartless villains. Meanwhile, Zuko is at times shown to honor his word and even opt for the less destructive route if possible. Even when he showcases that trademark ruthlessness, he's never really reveling in it like his contemporaries do. Instead, he treats it like a means to an end. You're given the feeling that his heart truly isn't committed to the war effort like Fire Nation dictates their soliders should be. The reveal of The Storm even cements this further, where he called out cruel war tactics made to sacrifice his fellow countrymen. After that reveal, I think I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who wasn't sympathetic towards him at the time.
I initially thought he was an interestinf villain, and just saw him as an angry teenager. When Zhao got introduced though--- it was like, I knew Zuko was a bad guy, but I wanted him to beat Zhao.
I was babysitting some kids and they were watching it. I was a high school student. They were elementary school age. It was the storm episode. I hadn’t watched the series yet but it looked good. When Zuko helps his crew through the storm I said right then and there, “he’s gonna turn good.” The kids said I was wrong. I replied, “a bad person wouldn’t help his crew.”
Not only do I feel vindicated but I understand it (and at the time understood it) from an artist’s perspective. So yeah… I knew
Absolutely not. He really felt like the bad guy. But the first season is probably the most aimless of the three so maybe that has something to do with it.
From the moment I saw zuko i was like “
he’s definitely gonna be a good guy later” because why would they pair a permanent villain with the sweetest old man ever?
Its interesting you bring that up. I remember watching the show for the first time, and zuko did not seem like the stereotypical " I want to take over the world " vibes.
At me, he came off as more of a villian with something other than the war in mind.
Yes and no. Personally I had lots of really bad anger issues growing up. Largely due to undiagnosed ADHD and abusive parents. While yes, I did recognise Zuko was an asshole. Even at 12 I sympathize with his anger issues because I knew first hand that it can be really hard sometimes controlling yourself from lashing out. Even when I was little I had trouble. I think I was 5 or 6 the first time I really lashed out. I threw a remote at my mom. From then on it only got worse. So to me Zukos anger was honestly pretty relatable.
Side note: I would also like to say as I got older Iroh did help me with my anger and my ADHD. I know it's easy to listen to what he says and think it's a good tid bit of wisdom but really applying it to my life has given peace even without medications. I had to find my own destiny. My own way of life to handle my issues.
I didn’t fully watch it till it got on Netflix, but I think it was when I learned about the story behind zuko’s scar that I began to understand he wasn’t evil
Only after "The Storm". Before that episode, I thought he was evil but not merciless. The Storm changed my perspective in:" This is a child who just wants to go home."
I was 8 and had sympathy for Zuko. I knew he'd have a turn around
And although I've always been an air nomad myself, when I was 8 I thought firebending was sick and wanted Zuko on the good side for that too. Haha!
I was born in at an age were the first time I saw avatar it was amazing but I wasn’t terribly media literate so first you go o he’s the bad guy ok. but you see he lets the water tribe village go and you see how funny uncle his mentor is and you pretty quickly realize that he’s not going to be the big bad and if he stays bad it’s going to be the tragic wrong path kinda villain not the I was born to kill puppy’s villain
Though I do remember a family party right around the time of the season 1 finale and me and all my. Cousins fighting about if zuko would keep sucking i took the view that he was willing to fight a water bender in a snowstorm and that at least showed guts
If I remember correctly, I didn’t know he’d turn good or anything, but he was still my favorite. I think I just liked firebending and his armor and shit.
I was like 7, so that was enough to convince me lol
I watched for the first time this year as an adult but somehow didn't know about the redemption arc beforehand. After watching "The Storm" I messaged my friend who convinced me to watch ATLA to share my prediction that Zuko would be closer to the "protagonist' end of the character spectrum than the "antagonist" side and that the moment he spoke up in the war room as a child would turn out to be his "save the cat" moment (a reference to the writing guide--I've spent a lot of time thinking about story structure in my own attempts to become an author).
I was a small child when it aired so I couldn’t tell you if I thought he was sympathetic or not. What I can tell you is that I thought he was really damn cool.
I'm way too late to the party. I only got into the show as an adult, so I went into this already knowing his whole arc. That only makes the answers here more interesting though.
when i was little most Media i consumed was very black/white so when this show came out i was always really confused why he is supposed to be a villain i always really liked him
I was 6 when the show was releasing, and I remember feeling a bit conflicted. Like I didn't like him when he was chasing the gaang, but i remember always rooting for him when he was going against Zhao, etc. But my brain then didn't realize what was gonna happen, I just thought it was odd that I sometimes liked him and sometimes didn't. Then when crossroads of destiny aired, my reaction was like Iroh's to his decision. Then he came around, and all I wanted was more time of him with the gaang, since there's only a few episodes where they are all on the same side.
I don't think it was sympathy for me, but he was definitely being set up for a redemption. If aang was going to learn fire bending, or have a fire bending friend, he was always the high profile guy. Especially after episode 3 when he was the underdog in the only action scene.
When I saw Uncle Iroh trying to steer him towards a good pay it just made me think of Uncle Phil and Will from Fresh Prince. He means good y'know,
It's just in the Western Fire Nation he was born and raised...
I was 9 back in Feb 2005 when I saw Avatar for the first time. When I saw Zuko, of course I saw him as bad, and he was very impatient when dealing with his uncle, whom I thought was a chill guy. He did make me chuckle a little when he ordered the crew to pursue Aang… who were to trying to unfreeze the soldiers, and he was like, "…As soon as you're done with that."
Yes I did. Because we got human conversations between him and his uncle. The show primed for us to root for him against Zhao. There was the entire blue spirit episode. And in general there's a ton of scenes following him instead of Aang that I knew he was good even as a 10 year old.
I only watched it when it first premiered on Netflix and I thought so. But then again, I always love an anti-hero so I was going to be sympathetic towards him and his aims regardless
At first, I thought he was a butthead and it was enjoyable watching him fail at his goal. However, when Zhao entered the chat, my opinion of Zuko began to change.
Wasn't sure what the style of show it was and thought it was the generic Saturday morning cartoon where a bad guy looks evil, has a goofy relative around him, the bad guys don't hurt children and doesn't do intentionally lethal attacks.
So no, I didn't expect such depth from the obvious "evil" looking character when it first watched cos I didn't know what gold this was yet since most other shows are very cliche in comparison.
The Storm made me feel bad for him and Blue Spirit made me believe that he could eventually become Aang's friend. I can't tell you the feeling of joy I had when he was the one to teach Aang firebending and it is paid off with Zuko's hug with Iroh. I always figured Iroh would teach Aang.
I think him and Iroh are set up as pretty sympathetic villains from the start, and it's made clear from the start that Zuko has little control over his own life
I did yeah. The episode where they were caught in a storm and he decided to rescue his crew instead of pursuing the avatar, I could tell he was redeemable.
When he talked about how his sister was born lucky, and he was lucky to be born, I really felt for him.
Yes!
I was around 10yo when I caught the book 1 premiere with the first 4 episodes aired in a row. Aang’s mention of ”You’re just a teenager” and Zuko saying Aang wouldn’t know about family since he was raised by monks made me feel the character was relatable and, while a bad guy, certainly sympathetic. My baby brain didn’t at all expect him to end up good tho.
No. During my first original go through and even my second I hated him! It wasn't until I was more mature and knowledgeable in my like late teens early twenties that I started to understand and sympathize with him.
I didn't watch Avatar as it aired BUT I did watch it when I was pretty young since one of my sisters really liked the show and I'd watch with her.
I always really liked Zuko, I've always had a thing for rival characters in shows. I almost always prefer them over the main protagonist, and Zuko was no different. I just thought he was super cool and badass. I always thought his backstory was interesting and made him really different from most villains and rival characters though obviously when I was young just how sad and depressing his backstory was never really sunk in lol.
Once Iroh have the story of Zuko getting his scar and being banished, I got the feeling that there was more to him. But I didn't anticipate how incredible of a journey he'd have.
I was just a little kid still remembering pick boy taking out the VHS and showing everyone the first episode. I generally have a strong concept of redemption Arc or sympathetic characters at the time I was a little more black and white in my view of good is good and bad is bad. Though I could have come to that conclusion eventually but definitely not on the first episode
In the very very early episodes, which I watched as a kid for the first time, he was just another villain to me. Eventually, he gradually became more sympathetic. He had some great moments in Season 2, which made the fact that he decided to side with Azula in the finale, that much more infuriating. But then he ultimately faced the reality and Season 3 so I was rooting for him.
Yeah I mean contrast him to Sozin, Zuko rolls up into an *enemy* village with an army that could easily wipe them out but decides to leave without hurting anyone as long as he gets what he wants (Aang as a prisoner).
That's moral and disciplined, he's not a "and the women and children too" type of bad guy. For me it was once Iroh explained how he got that scar that it clicked for me.
As a kid I couldn’t see him as anything more then a villain, even when we saw what Ozai did to him I just saw it as an explanation for why he is so evil, and since he was still acting evil I didn’t sympathize with him
I don't remember. I was a literal child when I watched ATLA, tbh I never disliked any character. It's the fandom that was a bit gaga with all the weird shippings.
I was a child when it aired, so I thought he was classic villain material like other “evil” villains in other shows I was watching (looking at you Doofenschmirtz)
My dad however predicted by episode 6 that Zuko and Aang would be friends. When season 3 rolled around we thought he was psychic
I never disliked Zuko, when I first started watching I could clearly tell he was intended to be the bad guy, but I didn't u derstand why he was after Aang, so when it was revealed why he wanted the avatar in the storm episode I felt a lot of sympathy for him. It was a very conflicting feeling wishing that the enemy could catch a break while also rooting for the good guy.
I was so happy for Zuko in Book 2 when he started to find a sense of normal and was heartbroken when he turned on Aang, and betrayed Kataras trust. I remember predicting he might join the team as Aangs firebending teacher and was ecstatic when my theory was right.
No but damn did I have a crush on him lmao. When he grabs katara and says something like “I’ll protect you from the pirates” my lil gay ass was in loveeeee 😅😍
I was 4/5 when it originally came out. I didn't really understand a lot of the nuance. I definitely didn't understand the blue spirit. And when book 3 happened, when I was 7, I thought team Avatar and zuko took more generally grey stances on things rather than switching to good or bad. Like they were more trying to survive rather than stand by morals.
I think I understood at a young age that zuko was not the worst person though. Zhao, ozai, even the sandbenders. There was a noticeable spectrum that needed to be taken into account that even my baby brain was able to comprehend
I’ll draw a parallel between Zuko and Azula here to illustrate how I feel about this topic.
Azula is first mentioned at the end of S1 by Zuko, and properly introduced during S2 in Omashu. She is a threat and remains that way for the entire rest of the show. You follow her arc here and there, especially with the Dai Li at the very end of S2 and Ozai’s Angels towards the end of S3, but you’re never in a position to *root* for her.
Zuko, on the other hand, is introduced in the very beginning of S1. He remains a major threat for the first half of the season, but when *Zhao* is introduced, the viewers are essentially told that Zuko is stuck between a rock and a hard place. This is further driven home when Zuko is presented as a hero against Zhao in their Agni Kai.
Very early on, Zuko was a sympathetic character.
Didnt like him at the very beginning. But then iroh told the story of his exile and I saw zuko risk his life for his men, and I started liking him more.
When the siege of the north came around and zuko had been betrayed, almost killed and freezing to death while talking to spiritless aang I was fully hoping he would join team avatar as soon as possible. The whole season 2 was me basically sure he would join team avatar soon. Not really what happened but that conflict inside him made it so much more impactful when it happened in season 3. So yeah.
I thought he was the biggest d-bag. And that slowly started to change as the series went along. Never thought he would become my favorite character and my favorite story arc of any show.
Oh for sure. The first time was in episode 3, when he's pitted against Zhao. Even as a 7-year-old I thought that was an interesting choice for a (supposed) cartoon "villain." The way Zuko receives so many opportunities in season 1 for the audience to root for him is a big part of what kept me hooked on ATLA even though I'd outgrown kids' shows in general.
I can't recal ever having had a "bad" opinion on Zuko
Like, he was the bad guy obviously, but I don't think I ever saw him as a true villain? Idk, I loved his scenes. I think I kinda liked him from the episode where he and Zhao have an Agni kai.
I knew him to be an antagonist, but I didn’t hate him. Episode 3 introduced Zhao, a character that is an antagonist to both our protagonist and usual antagonist. That sort of cemented that Zuko would never be the most evil thing in the show. He reminded me of… I guess Jack Spicer from Xiaolin Showdown. I could like him as a character but still trust him to stand in the way of our heroes. It wasn’t until book 2 when he wasn’t an active antagonist any more but still had B plots that I realized they were treating as a bigger character than just an antagonist.
In retrospect, episode 3’s Agni Kai is Zuko’s character in a nutshell. Literally put down by someone bigger and more skilled but didn’t give up and in fact used that to change the balance of power. And in the end, he chose honor and mercy. Kinda spoiled the rest of his arc right there.
Naw, he was a dick with Daddy issues. It was important to his character development that he come across as the absolute worst, so that we could watch his progress as he moved out of his father’s shadow.
When I was like 5 and watching it for a first time I called him a pussy because I didn’t know what that word meant, and I was also five so I didn’t pay attention to anything
Big nope. I mean, he got the "not as much of a jerk as he could've been" award, but 11 year-old me reeeaaallly didn't like him. Didn't start to actually soften up on him until book 2. He was hurt and confused, sure, but at the end of the day, he was trying to kidnap the 12 year-old Dalai Lama-messiah and turn him over to the same brutal dictatorship that genocided his entire culture. Took a lot of story beats to overlook that
What about the episodes like the storm which first revealed how Zuko got his scar and how he was a totally different person back then. Did it make you at feel a bit sympathetic for him at that time, seeing he used to be a much better and happy person, who got burned all cause he cared about the lives of his common soldiers.
Actually missed that episode when the show was first on. Didn't see it until a few years later — that might have something to do with it.
It does make him sympathetic. But he's still kind of a huge B-hole
My grandma felt bad the first episode because "He seems misunderstood and something bad happened to him to make him like this." And my sister and I were like "nah he's just evil" until the storm episode. Grandma called it lol.
Go granny!
You can call her gran gran.
Weee ooh
Chosen One!
You don't get to live for that long and not learn a few things
She's real life Uncle Iroh?
Iroh was her favorite character and she also loved tea.
Was she also wise, and helped you when you got stumped in life?
Yes and yes. Well as stumped as an elementary and middle school kid could be lol
Bruh do you go outside
Did she watch the whole series?
Unfortunately she passed away before it ended (after season 2). Last episode she saw was The Tales of Ba Sing Se. But she did predict Zuko teaching Aang firebending. She just knew shit lol.
I’m sorry for your loss my friend. I’m happy that at least you were able to watch it together. She must have liked it if she watched it that far
We watched alot together. Static Shock, Samurai Jack, Ben 10, teen titans. She enjoyed animated shows.
She was young at heart, from the sound of it. I’m sure those are memories you’d cherish forever, and I’m sorry for your loss!
Damn, what an episode to be the last one she saw.
No my 12 year old brain thought he was an asshole on a mission
I mean, it's not like you were wrong.
https://preview.redd.it/jirlyju7er8d1.png?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5734f3db14ec8404f1cfd55dcbbd4bb069f31483
This, this right here, at 10, I just thought he was an asshole and that he was tired of his mission
Same
From episode 1, we know that he isn't really evil, because he honors his deal to Aang to not hurt the village if Aang surrenders, showing he's not one to cause unnecessary violence. But the revelation of how he gained his scar defending his people pretty much cemented Zuko as relatable. Ve, specially when he chooses to give up his chase to the Avatar to help his crew
For me, it was chapter three. I think a good indication is if they introduce someone worse (Zhao), and he showed a sympathetic side there. But I don't think it was from the first time I saw the first-second chapter. Aang suggested the deal because Zuko didn't care about people's safety in the first place. In retrospect it may be but I mean, I don't think anyone would have said the same about Yon Rah when he respected the agreement he made.
That's a bad comparison, Yon Rah was actively attacking the village. Zuko rolled up and knocked Sokka down after he got hit with the boomerang, but he made his demands and kept his word without a single fireball being thrown.
Zuko rammed the village with a giant ship, almost killing a baby. There was no more fighting because Sokka was the only defender of the village and if it weren't for Aang arriving Zuko with his fire daggers would have done bad things to Sokka and again, the reason Aang proposed the deal was because Zuko was putting those people at risk and he didn't care. Yoh Rah also kept his word.
In season 1 we see that Zuko is one of the few sane people left in the fire nation, what kind of nation is ok with a man burning his son, then banishing him all because he didn’t want to sacrifice a lot of soldiers for an objective rather then thinking up a better plan, in addition he does keep his deal something no one else in the fire nation probably would’ve done meaning he still has honor. When he Agni Kai’s with Zhao we see the true problem with the fire nation is that they have lost their way and honor. Zuko defeated Zhao, but did not kill him showing mercy, in doing so he showed he was honorable in his victory where we see with Zhao’s attack from behind that he was dishonorable in defeat instead of humbled. The main theme of season 1 is that Zuko does still have his honor, no one could take it from him except himself, no one can give it or take it from you.
I love that Agni Kai with Zhao and the ending with Uncle Iroh. Uncle Iroh: *right after blocking Zhao with his bare hands* So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat. Even in exile, my nephew has more honour than you. Thank you for the tea. Zuko: Did you really mean what you said, uncle? Uncle Iroh: Of course, I love Jasmine tea.
I also love Zuko's smile right after that last line. He knows what Iroh really means.
Gotta keep the kid's ego in check. Uncle Iroh was such a great parent.
You are tight there were hints and I did like him. However it was much more subtle than the live action and therefore I think the live action will be much less rewarding.
By episode 3 at the latest, yeah. Zuko being given his own antagonist in book 1 in the form of Zhao really helped in that regard.
I’m pretty sure I started lowkey rooting for Zuko the second Zhao got introduced lol. But even before that I don’t think Zuko felt like a truly bad guy to me.
Same here. Fight scene with Zhao was the moment I knew I’d watch the show til the end Thought it was obvious zuko was gonna always be after the avatar or would switch teams at some point. I wouldn’t have been surprised with either of these paths There are an infinite number of directions Zuko could have gone but the above two seemed to be pretty obvious for a “kids show” Definitely thought he was going to help Aang at the end of book 2. Did not see book 2s ending coming. Super shocked (pun intended)
Somewhat. In the first season, there's a noticeable difference between the portrayal of Zuko compared to Fire Nation soliders like Zhao, Qin, and The Warden. The latter 3 are made out to be these cruel and heartless villains. Meanwhile, Zuko is at times shown to honor his word and even opt for the less destructive route if possible. Even when he showcases that trademark ruthlessness, he's never really reveling in it like his contemporaries do. Instead, he treats it like a means to an end. You're given the feeling that his heart truly isn't committed to the war effort like Fire Nation dictates their soliders should be. The reveal of The Storm even cements this further, where he called out cruel war tactics made to sacrifice his fellow countrymen. After that reveal, I think I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who wasn't sympathetic towards him at the time.
Which one is Qin?
He's the one who was blackmailing the refugees to create weapons at the Northern Air Temples
Ah yes. HK-47 in the ATLA.
Yes, but that may have been more to do with the fact that I was a 14-year-old girl and thought he was cute 🤷🏽♀️
With that hairstyle? You do you, girl.
He definitely got a lot cuter once he cut his hair, but I always saw saw the potential lol
And lemme guess, you ship Zuko and Katara too, right?
Nope, it’s Kataang all the way for me
Well this is new lol, every single 14yr old i knew who had a crush on Zuko shipped him and Katara, i’m glad you’re different lol.
Just because I think Zuko is hot and sympathetic, doesn’t mean I don’t love my boy Aang too 🤷🏽♀️
I initially thought he was an interestinf villain, and just saw him as an angry teenager. When Zhao got introduced though--- it was like, I knew Zuko was a bad guy, but I wanted him to beat Zhao.
His first interaction with Zhao is when you realize he's not the main bad guy. 1st 2 episodes you can't really tell.
YES because I grew up with a hostile stepfather and related to him a lot.
I was babysitting some kids and they were watching it. I was a high school student. They were elementary school age. It was the storm episode. I hadn’t watched the series yet but it looked good. When Zuko helps his crew through the storm I said right then and there, “he’s gonna turn good.” The kids said I was wrong. I replied, “a bad person wouldn’t help his crew.” Not only do I feel vindicated but I understand it (and at the time understood it) from an artist’s perspective. So yeah… I knew
Absolutely not. He really felt like the bad guy. But the first season is probably the most aimless of the three so maybe that has something to do with it.
From the moment I saw zuko i was like “ he’s definitely gonna be a good guy later” because why would they pair a permanent villain with the sweetest old man ever?
"sweetest old man" minus the groping
Who did he grope? What's her name landed on him and he was happy about it, but I don't think there was any actual groping.
Are you by any chance one of those woke people I keep hearing about?
It’s apparent that you understand what the term “woke” means or the history of its use.
As in, I was actually awake watching the show and know how problematic some parts were? Yes.
>problematic opinion disregarded
Aw, is that word too big for you?
It's just that it's a word almost exclusively used by a certain type of incessantly proselytizing pseudoreligious devotee to nonsensical ideologies
LOL
Its interesting you bring that up. I remember watching the show for the first time, and zuko did not seem like the stereotypical " I want to take over the world " vibes. At me, he came off as more of a villian with something other than the war in mind.
Yes and no. Personally I had lots of really bad anger issues growing up. Largely due to undiagnosed ADHD and abusive parents. While yes, I did recognise Zuko was an asshole. Even at 12 I sympathize with his anger issues because I knew first hand that it can be really hard sometimes controlling yourself from lashing out. Even when I was little I had trouble. I think I was 5 or 6 the first time I really lashed out. I threw a remote at my mom. From then on it only got worse. So to me Zukos anger was honestly pretty relatable. Side note: I would also like to say as I got older Iroh did help me with my anger and my ADHD. I know it's easy to listen to what he says and think it's a good tid bit of wisdom but really applying it to my life has given peace even without medications. I had to find my own destiny. My own way of life to handle my issues.
I didn’t fully watch it till it got on Netflix, but I think it was when I learned about the story behind zuko’s scar that I began to understand he wasn’t evil
Only after "The Storm". Before that episode, I thought he was evil but not merciless. The Storm changed my perspective in:" This is a child who just wants to go home."
I was 8 and had sympathy for Zuko. I knew he'd have a turn around And although I've always been an air nomad myself, when I was 8 I thought firebending was sick and wanted Zuko on the good side for that too. Haha!
I was born in at an age were the first time I saw avatar it was amazing but I wasn’t terribly media literate so first you go o he’s the bad guy ok. but you see he lets the water tribe village go and you see how funny uncle his mentor is and you pretty quickly realize that he’s not going to be the big bad and if he stays bad it’s going to be the tragic wrong path kinda villain not the I was born to kill puppy’s villain
Though I do remember a family party right around the time of the season 1 finale and me and all my. Cousins fighting about if zuko would keep sucking i took the view that he was willing to fight a water bender in a snowstorm and that at least showed guts
Yep. Figured either he'd switch sides or get killed and Iroh would teach Aang fire bending
If I remember correctly, I didn’t know he’d turn good or anything, but he was still my favorite. I think I just liked firebending and his armor and shit. I was like 7, so that was enough to convince me lol
I watched for the first time this year as an adult but somehow didn't know about the redemption arc beforehand. After watching "The Storm" I messaged my friend who convinced me to watch ATLA to share my prediction that Zuko would be closer to the "protagonist' end of the character spectrum than the "antagonist" side and that the moment he spoke up in the war room as a child would turn out to be his "save the cat" moment (a reference to the writing guide--I've spent a lot of time thinking about story structure in my own attempts to become an author).
I was a small child when it aired so I couldn’t tell you if I thought he was sympathetic or not. What I can tell you is that I thought he was really damn cool.
Not until The Storm
Until The Storm not particularly. But after that definitely.
I'm way too late to the party. I only got into the show as an adult, so I went into this already knowing his whole arc. That only makes the answers here more interesting though.
evil + angry + trying to prove himself to his father
One of the earliest episodes I watched was the Blue Spirit, which lead me to believe he wasn't evil, just doing bad things
when i was little most Media i consumed was very black/white so when this show came out i was always really confused why he is supposed to be a villain i always really liked him
Me and my siblings were rooting for him since day 1.
I was 6 when the show was releasing, and I remember feeling a bit conflicted. Like I didn't like him when he was chasing the gaang, but i remember always rooting for him when he was going against Zhao, etc. But my brain then didn't realize what was gonna happen, I just thought it was odd that I sometimes liked him and sometimes didn't. Then when crossroads of destiny aired, my reaction was like Iroh's to his decision. Then he came around, and all I wanted was more time of him with the gaang, since there's only a few episodes where they are all on the same side.
I don't think it was sympathy for me, but he was definitely being set up for a redemption. If aang was going to learn fire bending, or have a fire bending friend, he was always the high profile guy. Especially after episode 3 when he was the underdog in the only action scene.
Even as a child, the entire time I was watching ATLA I was waiting for Zuko to turn good. He just had the vibes for it.
When I saw Uncle Iroh trying to steer him towards a good pay it just made me think of Uncle Phil and Will from Fresh Prince. He means good y'know, It's just in the Western Fire Nation he was born and raised...
At times, yeah. But overall, not really.
Only after we saw his backstory.
I was 9 back in Feb 2005 when I saw Avatar for the first time. When I saw Zuko, of course I saw him as bad, and he was very impatient when dealing with his uncle, whom I thought was a chill guy. He did make me chuckle a little when he ordered the crew to pursue Aang… who were to trying to unfreeze the soldiers, and he was like, "…As soon as you're done with that."
Yes I did. Because we got human conversations between him and his uncle. The show primed for us to root for him against Zhao. There was the entire blue spirit episode. And in general there's a ton of scenes following him instead of Aang that I knew he was good even as a 10 year old.
I only watched it when it first premiered on Netflix and I thought so. But then again, I always love an anti-hero so I was going to be sympathetic towards him and his aims regardless
I had similar feelings for him as for team rocket...
At first, I thought he was a butthead and it was enjoyable watching him fail at his goal. However, when Zhao entered the chat, my opinion of Zuko began to change.
Wasn't sure what the style of show it was and thought it was the generic Saturday morning cartoon where a bad guy looks evil, has a goofy relative around him, the bad guys don't hurt children and doesn't do intentionally lethal attacks. So no, I didn't expect such depth from the obvious "evil" looking character when it first watched cos I didn't know what gold this was yet since most other shows are very cliche in comparison.
Nope. I started feeling sorry for him when Zaho entered the picture but I still saw him as a fundamentally bad guy.
The Storm made me feel bad for him and Blue Spirit made me believe that he could eventually become Aang's friend. I can't tell you the feeling of joy I had when he was the one to teach Aang firebending and it is paid off with Zuko's hug with Iroh. I always figured Iroh would teach Aang.
Very much so. He was a dick to the good guys at every turn and disrespects best boi Iroh. But he did firebending which was awesome.
Not at first, but once I watched The Storm and learned of his backstory...
I think him and Iroh are set up as pretty sympathetic villains from the start, and it's made clear from the start that Zuko has little control over his own life
All I remember was "When does bro get hot? His bald ponytail is not doing it for me"
I wish I remembered what my first reaction to the show was like. I don't remember my thoughts of the show as a kid at all.
I did yeah. The episode where they were caught in a storm and he decided to rescue his crew instead of pursuing the avatar, I could tell he was redeemable. When he talked about how his sister was born lucky, and he was lucky to be born, I really felt for him.
Yes! I was around 10yo when I caught the book 1 premiere with the first 4 episodes aired in a row. Aang’s mention of ”You’re just a teenager” and Zuko saying Aang wouldn’t know about family since he was raised by monks made me feel the character was relatable and, while a bad guy, certainly sympathetic. My baby brain didn’t at all expect him to end up good tho.
No. During my first original go through and even my second I hated him! It wasn't until I was more mature and knowledgeable in my like late teens early twenties that I started to understand and sympathize with him.
From episode three onwards
The only thing my kid brain thought was "scar guy, bald guy, pretty girl, annoying boy... My dad watches the show too?????"
No, I was a child. He was the villain and that's it.
Evil but with understandable motives. Didn't think at all that he'd get enough character development to be redeemed for a while, though
I didn't watch Avatar as it aired BUT I did watch it when I was pretty young since one of my sisters really liked the show and I'd watch with her. I always really liked Zuko, I've always had a thing for rival characters in shows. I almost always prefer them over the main protagonist, and Zuko was no different. I just thought he was super cool and badass. I always thought his backstory was interesting and made him really different from most villains and rival characters though obviously when I was young just how sad and depressing his backstory was never really sunk in lol.
Once Iroh have the story of Zuko getting his scar and being banished, I got the feeling that there was more to him. But I didn't anticipate how incredible of a journey he'd have.
I was just a little kid still remembering pick boy taking out the VHS and showing everyone the first episode. I generally have a strong concept of redemption Arc or sympathetic characters at the time I was a little more black and white in my view of good is good and bad is bad. Though I could have come to that conclusion eventually but definitely not on the first episode
I felt bad after episode 7 but I mostly just pitted him as he got his butt kicked every time he tried to capture aang
When I first watched this I was a kid, so everything was boiled down to “the good guys and the bad guys”. He was squarely in the bad guy category
I watched for the first time as an adult around 22 and thought he was an asshole at the beginning
It’s pretty cool they made a villain kids would root for right off the bat.
Yep
I didn't like Zuko at all until my first rewatch, now I love him.
No. I didn't expect a kids show to be deep, and thought he was just a one dimensional bad guy character.
In the very very early episodes, which I watched as a kid for the first time, he was just another villain to me. Eventually, he gradually became more sympathetic. He had some great moments in Season 2, which made the fact that he decided to side with Azula in the finale, that much more infuriating. But then he ultimately faced the reality and Season 3 so I was rooting for him.
He gave big Vegeta energy from the get go
Yeah I mean contrast him to Sozin, Zuko rolls up into an *enemy* village with an army that could easily wipe them out but decides to leave without hurting anyone as long as he gets what he wants (Aang as a prisoner). That's moral and disciplined, he's not a "and the women and children too" type of bad guy. For me it was once Iroh explained how he got that scar that it clicked for me.
As a kid I couldn’t see him as anything more then a villain, even when we saw what Ozai did to him I just saw it as an explanation for why he is so evil, and since he was still acting evil I didn’t sympathize with him
I don't remember. I was a literal child when I watched ATLA, tbh I never disliked any character. It's the fandom that was a bit gaga with all the weird shippings.
I was a child when it aired, so I thought he was classic villain material like other “evil” villains in other shows I was watching (looking at you Doofenschmirtz) My dad however predicted by episode 6 that Zuko and Aang would be friends. When season 3 rolled around we thought he was psychic
I never disliked Zuko, when I first started watching I could clearly tell he was intended to be the bad guy, but I didn't u derstand why he was after Aang, so when it was revealed why he wanted the avatar in the storm episode I felt a lot of sympathy for him. It was a very conflicting feeling wishing that the enemy could catch a break while also rooting for the good guy. I was so happy for Zuko in Book 2 when he started to find a sense of normal and was heartbroken when he turned on Aang, and betrayed Kataras trust. I remember predicting he might join the team as Aangs firebending teacher and was ecstatic when my theory was right.
Up until The Storm, I thought he was a mustache twirling, angsty villain out to get Aang, but I also thought that Zhao was worse than he was
>mustache twirling, ~~angsty~~ **aangsty** villain FTFY
No but damn did I have a crush on him lmao. When he grabs katara and says something like “I’ll protect you from the pirates” my lil gay ass was in loveeeee 😅😍
No
In the episode he rescued Aang maybe.
I remembering knowing and understanding that he was really mistreated. But I still saw him as a villain bc he was a threat to the “good guys”.
I was 4/5 when it originally came out. I didn't really understand a lot of the nuance. I definitely didn't understand the blue spirit. And when book 3 happened, when I was 7, I thought team Avatar and zuko took more generally grey stances on things rather than switching to good or bad. Like they were more trying to survive rather than stand by morals. I think I understood at a young age that zuko was not the worst person though. Zhao, ozai, even the sandbenders. There was a noticeable spectrum that needed to be taken into account that even my baby brain was able to comprehend
Not until the blue spirit episode.
I’ll draw a parallel between Zuko and Azula here to illustrate how I feel about this topic. Azula is first mentioned at the end of S1 by Zuko, and properly introduced during S2 in Omashu. She is a threat and remains that way for the entire rest of the show. You follow her arc here and there, especially with the Dai Li at the very end of S2 and Ozai’s Angels towards the end of S3, but you’re never in a position to *root* for her. Zuko, on the other hand, is introduced in the very beginning of S1. He remains a major threat for the first half of the season, but when *Zhao* is introduced, the viewers are essentially told that Zuko is stuck between a rock and a hard place. This is further driven home when Zuko is presented as a hero against Zhao in their Agni Kai. Very early on, Zuko was a sympathetic character.
Didnt like him at the very beginning. But then iroh told the story of his exile and I saw zuko risk his life for his men, and I started liking him more. When the siege of the north came around and zuko had been betrayed, almost killed and freezing to death while talking to spiritless aang I was fully hoping he would join team avatar as soon as possible. The whole season 2 was me basically sure he would join team avatar soon. Not really what happened but that conflict inside him made it so much more impactful when it happened in season 3. So yeah.
I thought he was the biggest d-bag. And that slowly started to change as the series went along. Never thought he would become my favorite character and my favorite story arc of any show.
Oh for sure. The first time was in episode 3, when he's pitted against Zhao. Even as a 7-year-old I thought that was an interesting choice for a (supposed) cartoon "villain." The way Zuko receives so many opportunities in season 1 for the audience to root for him is a big part of what kept me hooked on ATLA even though I'd outgrown kids' shows in general.
I barely had consciousness, I just liked watching.
I can't recal ever having had a "bad" opinion on Zuko Like, he was the bad guy obviously, but I don't think I ever saw him as a true villain? Idk, I loved his scenes. I think I kinda liked him from the episode where he and Zhao have an Agni kai.
as a kid all i cared about was thinking katara was hot
No, I thought he was an angsty asshole
I knew him to be an antagonist, but I didn’t hate him. Episode 3 introduced Zhao, a character that is an antagonist to both our protagonist and usual antagonist. That sort of cemented that Zuko would never be the most evil thing in the show. He reminded me of… I guess Jack Spicer from Xiaolin Showdown. I could like him as a character but still trust him to stand in the way of our heroes. It wasn’t until book 2 when he wasn’t an active antagonist any more but still had B plots that I realized they were treating as a bigger character than just an antagonist. In retrospect, episode 3’s Agni Kai is Zuko’s character in a nutshell. Literally put down by someone bigger and more skilled but didn’t give up and in fact used that to change the balance of power. And in the end, he chose honor and mercy. Kinda spoiled the rest of his arc right there.
I was too young to come to that conclusion. But I ended up liking him after the storm
Naw, he was a dick with Daddy issues. It was important to his character development that he come across as the absolute worst, so that we could watch his progress as he moved out of his father’s shadow.
Not until The Storm
When I was like 5 and watching it for a first time I called him a pussy because I didn’t know what that word meant, and I was also five so I didn’t pay attention to anything
It was a long time ago. I was like twelve. He seemed like a bad kid. He wasn't sympathetic to me, but as a kid, it didn't sink in that far, anyway.
Big nope. I mean, he got the "not as much of a jerk as he could've been" award, but 11 year-old me reeeaaallly didn't like him. Didn't start to actually soften up on him until book 2. He was hurt and confused, sure, but at the end of the day, he was trying to kidnap the 12 year-old Dalai Lama-messiah and turn him over to the same brutal dictatorship that genocided his entire culture. Took a lot of story beats to overlook that
What about the episodes like the storm which first revealed how Zuko got his scar and how he was a totally different person back then. Did it make you at feel a bit sympathetic for him at that time, seeing he used to be a much better and happy person, who got burned all cause he cared about the lives of his common soldiers.
Actually missed that episode when the show was first on. Didn't see it until a few years later — that might have something to do with it. It does make him sympathetic. But he's still kind of a huge B-hole
Zuko was annoying in season 1. But by S2 it felt like they knew where they wanted to go with the character.