History Fridge / AvatarTheLastAirbender

*** Here's a scarier thought: Bonebending

** If you combine that with the ten or so Fire Nation skeletons Aang found around that of Monk Gyatso at the Southern Air Temple, it probably sinks in that Aang's huge moral philosophical hangup wasn't with the mere fact that killing and death altogether is a reality of war; in fact, seeing those skulls was the moment he realized the passed century and the ongoing war were indeed real. No, his issue was the actual mission of setting out to attack and murder a man. This would kinda bring us back to FridgeBrilliance a little bit, except not only does that assessment contain an implied [[WhatMeasureIsAMook slighting of the lives of ordinary soldiers who would never be explicitly marked for death that way]], but let's also think about the above example involving the people Aang has killed while under the influence of UnstoppableRage, his past lives, and other spirits in the Avatar State. Combine all those deaths, probably the one thing that HASN'T happened yet in that department was Aang himself actively making the conscious decision to stop someone ''at all costs'', '''including murder''', and going through with it to that very point. Now just think: if he had allowed his principles to be compromised into breaking that last plateau, most of the world would've been praising him at war's end just the same. ''He would be called a monster by a minority, but hailed by the majority as a WAR HERO, for something he could only bring himself to think of in terms of "WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife."''

** His opponent is the head of state meaning that attacking Ozai is essentially treason. Even if we assume that any social and political status is pushed aside for the duel, Zuko wasn't just pleading to not fight his father out of basic human decency. It is also because he knows he is ''no match for his father''. Combined with the knowledge of being TheUnFavourite, he knows he is scorched to a crisp for sure if he fought back. Pleading into a surrender was really the only option he can do. Even if by some miracle Ozai didn't fry him if he fought back and acknowledged Zuko's honor, there is no way an incident like this will be swept under the rug for the royal family, painting Zuko as a rebellious threat to Ozai and Azula.

* It's a really understated moment but right before the Gaang notices that Aang is missing, they're loading up onto Appa. We're not really told what they're doing but given the context of the previous episode, they were about to [[StromignTheCastle fly]] ''straight'' to Caldera, the Fire Nation Capital, and attempt to assassinate the Fire Lord. First of all, that is some dark stuff but the desperation of war has made it the only real option. This was almost certainly a suicide mission, even with the Avatar so thank goodness they called it off to go and look for our hero.

** More than Honor, it's Pride, Zuko, the [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass weak]] son of a warrior society, needs to [[ARealManIsAKiller take a life]], Sokka, the genius, needs to validate his stratagems, and Katara, the [[MamaBear maternal character]] was unable to protect someone (her own mother, at that). They were all [[HumiliationConga humiliated]] and need to get their mojo back. Toph doesn't need a real 'life-changing excursion with Zuko' because she's quite comfortable and confident in who she is and what she can do. While just to round it out, Aang's quest with Zuko is mainly for him to not only learn to get along with Zuko, but to overcome his distrust of and hate for Firebenders in general, and to realise he needs to save the Fire Nation as well.

* Considering that Azula didn't hesitate to subtly threaten the captain with being thrown overboard and smashed against the rocks by the waves, we can imagine that Azula probably [[YouHaveFailedMe wasn't feeling merciful]] with how very badly the guard screwed up by letting slip what they were trying to do... Tellingly, said captain never appears again.

* Considering that Azula didn't hesitate to subtly threaten the captain with being thrown overboard and smashed against the rocks by the waves, we can imagine that Azula probably [[YouHaveFailedMe wasn't feeling merciful]] with how very badly the guard screwed up by letting slip what they were trying to do...

** That, or she was unable to get her friends out. Or driven so mad that she was unwilling. Both pleasant possibilities.

** Zhao killed the moon spirit and nearly destroyed the world. In the deeply spiritual world of Avatar, he committed a very heinous crime, akin to heresy, especially since he harmed a vital and non-malicious spirit for his own personal glory, killed the Water Tribe princess and, once again, nearly destroyed the world. Everyone pretty much agreed to [[UnPerson erase Zhao and what he did from history]], which would explain why Tenzin, Kya and Bumi don't recognize or guess who he is when they meet him in the Fog of Lost Souls; remember, Aang is from a deeply spiritual nation and he was forced into the Avatar State and killed thousands (nevermind the fact his best friend lost his girlfriend) because of what Zhao did. Zhao pressed all his [[BerserkButton Berserk Buttons]] and got himself killed before Aang could get even, so Aang decided to erase the GlorySeeker from history out of spite.

* There are a couple mentions on this site about how [[WhatAnIdiot plum stupid]] it is for Zuko to have a MyNameIsInigoMontoya moment, given the hatred the people in that episode have for the Fire Nation. But put that moment in context with Zuko for the rest of the season: just setting Appa free instead of using him to capture Aang is in so much conflict with his normal self that he spends a whole episode in an AngstComa, he uses the Blue Spirit around Ba Sing Se as noted above, he can't bend lightning in "Bitter Work"... Zuko in season two still at a core level wants to be accepted by his father and taken back into the Fire Nation fold, and sees that as the only way to regain his honor, so it makes perfect sense for him to declare his Fire Nation heritage at what he sees as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome-- and this foreshadows his inability to HeelFaceTurn at the end of the season.

* Some could argue that Iroh was holding an IdiotBall (or just having a WhatAnIdiot moment) when he seriously thought that ''Zuko'', who Iroh knows damn well is stubborn, proud, desperate for recognition, determined, and driven to try and reclaim his place in the Fire Nation for many reasons (including a desperate need to have the love of his family as well as a yearning to return things to "normal" and stop being the disgraced, dishonorable, worthless exile), would happily agree to spending the rest of his life meekly denying everything he was and pretending to be a humble waiter in a teashop. Which leads to FridgeBrilliance in its own right; a further emphasis of the subtle message in the show that all beings are fallible. Nobody, no matter how wise or powerful they may be, is totally immune to making mistakes or learning from those mistakes.

* So Bloodbending is the dark side of Waterbending which works by using your body fluids. But if you know your chemistry, it's not just Waterbending alone that has such potential. Eastern philosophy states that all the elements are present in the human body. When you think of the possibilities, it suddenly dawns on you that the doors open for horrific variations in any of the four bending styles. Do not read below if you're of the faint hearted.

** Also, while is true Zuko did the right thing calling out the general for his horrible tactics, he did it by speaking out of turn quickly without minding his words, just in place in front of a father who probably was already looking for an excuse to get rid of Zuko. Zuko, while brave, was also reckless and impulsive, something Iroh called him out in the episode "The Lake Laogai", pointing out Zuko's impulsivity and unability to plan ahead constantly hinders him. Zuko now has grown mentally and emotionally and started to take Iroh's lessons at heart. He knows sadly that the "brave" choice here is simply not the most pragmatic one, so instead Zuko decides to swallow his thoughts and actually make an strategy to take down his father and save the world and help Aang. He actually thinks ahead for once and manages to live and help Aang.

* Toph's tactic of scamming people before running away, turned her into a literal "Blind Bandit".

* Think about it for a second: ''[[EarthIsABattlefield the whole world]] was [[GreatOffscreenWar at war]] for a [[ForeverWar hundred years]].'' Besides all the horrible things that happened in the canon, imagine all the horrors endured off-screen. What if people like [[WellIntentionedExtremist Jet]], [[TykeBomb Azula]], [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Hama]], and Ozai are more common than we think and they've been doing [[RapePillageAndBurn t]][[LeaveNoSurvivors h]][[KillEmAll i]][[ShootEverythingThatMoves s]] for decades?! Imagine how gruesome this show would be without its TV-Y7 rating.

* Iroh, the bumbling old man who travels with Zuko and is constantly trying to get him to take it easy, suddenly turns out to be badass. If you look at [[BigScrewedUpFamily the rest]] [[RoyallyScrewedUp of his family]], you realize that if he wasn't badass, he ''wouldn't get to be an old man.'' Also, the only way to convince his family he wasn't a threat was to be a bumbling old man. The 'bumbling' persona is actually a protective measure.

** More than Honor, it's Pride, Zuko, the [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass weak]] son of a warrior society, needs to [[ARealManIsAKiller take a life]], Sokka, the genius, needs to validate his stratagems, and Katara, the [[MamaBear maternal]] [[TeamMom character]] was unable to protect someone (her own mother, at that). They were all [[HumiliationConga humiliated]] and need to get their mojo back. Toph doesn't need a real 'life-changing excursion with Zuko' because she's quite comfortable and confident in who she is and what she can do. While just to round it out, Aang's quest with Zuko is mainly for him to not only learn to get along with Zuko, but to overcome his distrust of and hate for Firebenders in general, and to realise he needs to save the Fire Nation as well.

* Remember how [[TheBigGuy Toph]] was portrayed as a [[LampshadeHanging huge, muscular man]]? The creator of the play got all the information secondhand, and it's quite plausible that people said she was a big guy, so as not to admit that they got beaten up by a "[[CuteBruiser little]] [[BloodKnight helpless]] [[DisabilitySuperpower blind]] girl".

* Think about it for a second: ''[[EarthIsABattlefield the whole world was]] [[GreatOffscreenWar at war]] [[ForeverWar for a hundred years]].'' Besides all the horrible things that happened in the canon, imagine all the horrors endured off-screen. What if people like [[WellIntentionedExtremist Jet]], [[TykeBomb Azula]], [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Hama]], and Ozai are more common than we think and they've been doing [[RapePillageAndBurn t]][[LeaveNoSurvivors h]][[KillEmAll i]][[ShootEverythingThatMoves s]] for decades?! Imagine how gruesome this show would be without its TV-Y7 rating.

* The guards at the Boiling Rock [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique torture prisoners for information]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids in canon]]. Suki was the leader of the group of warriors found in the company of the avatar's primary means of transportation, so it makes sense she would have some idea of his whereabouts, information that would have been ''very'' useful to the Fire Nation. This is made even worse by the fact that we see an apparently hardened criminal fold to these interrogation techniques in a matter of hours. Suki is fifteen years old, and she was at the Boiling Rock for several months. That being the case, she clearly didn't give Aang up, which might merit a sort of off-screen SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.