Except When People He Loves Are Involved - Tumblr Posts

I think Iroh is the perfect example of a person that radiates opportunism and moral flexibility:

Just as @lbibliophile-atla says, he adapts accordingly to any situation given to him and strives for the biggest personal benefit the particular context can provide him with. He's a Fire Nation Royal? Okay, big military-career, expanding social status, climbing the hirarchy. He's declared traitor by said nation only a few years later and is on the run with his nephew? Alright, fleeing to the city that's most secure at that time, it is. The war is tipping to the disadvantage of the Fire Nation? No problem, Iroh already took precautions for that by joining the White Lotus and playing on two sides a long time ago.

Iroh doesn't seem to be tied to any deeper loyalties or ethics, allowing him to adapt to every circumstance that his life is throwing him into. This makes it possible for him to take on any moral code and behaviour that's fitting the context: Joking about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground and being emotionally invested in liberating it years later isn't that inauthentic, if Iroh sees it as two seperate situations that each needed different behaviour from him.

He doesn't care about Fire Nation ideology. He doesn't care about Ba Sing Se. He cares about things that benefit him in the respective situation.

But does that mean that Iroh, former Fire Nation General, war criminal, teashop-owner and White Lotus member is free of any moral compass? Is everything he does solely for his own - and only his own - benefit?

I'd say, not exclusively.

His opportunistic behavior is immediately stalled when his family is involved: Iroh instantly stopped the invasion of Ba Sing Se when Lu Ten died. He sailed together with Zuko into exile when Zukos own father had mutilated and banished him. Both of these actions were really contraproductive from an opportunistic point of view, but Iroh chose them anyway.

Why?

Because the people he cares about outweigh his ambition to gain the highest personal profit.

Iroh didn't care about soldiers and civilians dying in Ba Sing Se, but he drew the line when his own son became one of the many people who lost their live in the battle. Only then he saw the invasion as a mistake. Not because thousands were killed under his command before, but because Lu Ten became a victim to the war he had greatly contributed to. He doesn't care about the cruel ideology of the Fire Nation, just until his beloved nephew falls victim to it.

Irohs morale is not tied to right and wrong. It's tied to himself and the people he cares about.

So yeah, @gaylord-zuko, I think he didn't really redeem himself or was a good person in general. He was smart, a good strategist and highly capable of adapting to his enviroment. What makes him morally grey is the fact that the love for his family outweighs his Machiavellism and leads him to some of the right decisions.

Hot take: Iroh didn’t actually get a redemption arc in ATLA.

Zuko’s redemption required him to admit that his previous actions were wrong and to do whatever it took to make up for them.

Iroh did a lot of good things to help the protagonists, but we never saw him take ownership of the damage he caused as an imperialist. The way he switches gears once he’s living in the Earth Kingdom and starts valuing the people he was trying to destroy without any acknowledgment of the change makes it seem like…maybe he knew what he was doing was wrong the whole time. Which kind of makes it worse? To me, anyway.

I don’t know, I’m just suspicious of his “redemption” because, unlike Zuko, he never took responsibility for the suffering he inflicted on others despite the fact that he’d been going at it for much longer than Zuko. He admits that the Fire Nation has done terrible things, but he never takes personal responsibility for his own actions. Just because Iroh is a kind and loving person doesn’t mean he’s absolved himself of his crimes.

I’d love other peoples’ input on this if you feel like it!