PICK YOUR BATTLES! SOME BATTLES AREN'T YOURS! SO PUT THEM BACK!

PICK YOUR BATTLES! SOME BATTLES AREN'T YOURS! SO PUT THEM BACK!

Yes, I think these are some really good points, too! As a child, Zuko is outright told by Ozai that he will learn through suffering, right before Ozai burns him in that sham of an Agni Kai. Zuko responds to this act of cruelty by spending the next three years desperately trying to please his father and become the sort of man his father apparently wants in a child, all so that he can return home to a man who abuses him. He has been told that the Fire Nation are the good guys who want what is best for the world, lead by his father the Fire Lord who wants what is best for his children, too. From the perspective of the Zuko who believes in this propaganda, he is doing everything in his power to "earn" the right to return to the Fire Nation. At the same time, the other nations are fighting against becoming a part of the Fire Nation. For the Zuko who believes that he brought Ozai's cruelty on himself through his bad behavior and can't imagine anything worse than never getting to go home, it would be baffling to see anyone else not just refusing to join the Fire Nation but outright fighting against being colonized by them.

Zuko had to unlearn the lie of his own accountability in the case of his father's cruelty towards him, before he could be ready to let himself learn what he and his nation should be held accountable for in perpetuating the war.

My thoughts on Iroh tend to be a bit fuzzier, in part because it did seem like the writers occasionally added new aspects to his character (such as the White Lotus involvement) without fully considering how those things might hang together with previous actions we'd seen from him. That makes it bit hard to get a fully coherent analysis of his character, and easier to read thoughtless or even outright sinister intent into some of his character beats. However, I do tend to lean towards agreeing with you, that Iroh was a complex character placed in a difficult situation in charge of a deeply traumatized teenage boy who still bought into his father's dangerous ideology, and that he did his best to love and support Zuko from within the boundaries of the situation and his own abilities as a teacher. I think he didn't always know how to connect with Zuko, but I also think he wanted that connection even when he wasn't sure how to say so in a way that Zuko might be able/willing to hear.

Every so often I see the argument that Zuko's journey through the Earth Kingdom was necessary in Season 2, because he had to learn empathy (or empathy for the Earth Kingdom, at least). I have to disagree with this argument.

Zuko didn't lack empathy, before or after being burned. He lacked:

Emotional intelligence (very much not helped by the fact that he was an abused kid who was slow at picking up social skills, and then a very traumatized kid tossed onto a tiny boat with a fresh burn, a crew of adults who didn't respect him, and an uncle who didn't know how to communicate with him, and given a quest that was meant to be impossible by the father who had burned him and claimed it was for his own good)

Acceptance that his father didn't love him, but this was not Zuko's fault nor his responsibility to 'correct' by fulfilling an impossible quest/making himself less compassionate/magically becoming a more powerful firebender/etc (I feel like this one should speak for itself)

Accurate understanding of how his nation was treating the rest of the world (very much due to growing up surrounded by propaganda about how great his country was, and then banished with a crew of Fire Nation soldiers who had grown up with the same propaganda, and his Uncle - the Fire Nation Prince and former General who had led armies in the Fire Nation's war - who seemed to communicate with Zuko primarily through vague philosophical ideas, proverbs that Zuko consistently made clear he did not understand, and questions about Zuko's motives - generally asked in such a way as to make it clear that Iroh thought he already knew the 'right' answer before he asked the question)

Zuko didn't need to learn empathy. He needed to learn that his country was the aggressor in a war against people who primarily wanted to defend their own homes and families from the violence brought by his nation, and he needed to learn that Ozai was wrong for treating empathy and compassion like bad things.

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1930s Bucky being unsure if Steve is having sex with him because Steve likes him or if Steve is having sex with him because its technically illegal and Steve gets off on law breaking.

look friends we all know i’m not really a stucky shipper but this is LEGIT THE FUNNIEST AND MOST IN CHARACTER HEADCANON I’VE SEEN ALL WEEK I’M YELLING

he is shitty and a danger to society but i love him so pls don't be mean to him he is just babygirl you gotta trust me you don't know him like i do he is baby i promise

Regality