History Fridge / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch

* If Zuko really is [[spoiler: Ikem's son, he's no longer the heir to the Fire Nation throne.]] Scenes of a GameOfThrones style power struggle coming.

* If Ursa had a surefire, undetectable way of killing someone, why didn't she do that seventeen-or-so years ago when the prince and his father kidnapped her, or at least after Ozai bragged that he killed her boyfriend?
* If that mask is the easily-recognizable Water Spirit character from a popular play, why was Zuko's SecretIdentity dubbed "the Blue Spirit" by Zhao and the rest in Season 1?

*** But the idea that Azulon planned to have Ozai's line succeed him instead of Iroh's blatantly contradicts the events of the show, because when we see Azulon he speaks favorably of Iroh, and treats Ozai with nothing less than contempt.
*** Maybe he [[EvenEvilHasStandards realized Ozai was completely bonkers and was ruining his children, and didn't want a madman and his maddened descendants on the throne]]?
*** According to Ozai, Zuko didn't truly display the spark of firebending when he was born, so much so that Ozai considered to throw him out in shame of having a non-bender be his firstborn if it weren't the persuasion of Ursa and the Fire Sages. Given that Zuko is heir to Ozai's bloodline, Azulon wouldn't be happy if this where the Fire Lord's lineage is heading.
*** Except when Azulon watched Azula's firebending demonstration he wasn't much more thrilled with it either. More begrudging than anything. He seemed to almost dislike Azula specifically because she was Ozai's. The idea that Azulon ever wanted Ozai to succeed him when his every interaction with Ozai was filled with contempt is farcial.
*** Then why does Azulon have a second son in the first place? And there's no excuse for Azulon for Ozai was born around 20 years after Iroh, based on the appearances. If Azulon wants Iroh to be the Firelord no matter, it would be strange that he even sired Ozai at all unless he has a reason to. He might heard of the prophecy of the Fire Sages too late, and had to get another son to fulfill the prophecy. As for Azula, given that Fire Nation seems to prefer male heirs (such as Mai's parents), Azulon might have been unamused by Ozai's desire to show off his daughter as opposed to his son.
*** The reason Azulon had a second son is that he had sex with his wife after Iroh was born. There doesn't have to be a major reason. Old people get horny too. Also, "Ozai" means calamity, and in the real world is a name given to sons whose mothers died in childbirth.
*** Did it said that Ozai caused the death of Ilah by childbirth? Nothing in the Avatar series implies that. And the name ''Ozai'' means "great wealth", "king", or "proudly carry" according to various translation sources. None of the meanings even come close to the word calamity. And why does it take twenty years or so to ''accidentally'' have another child? If this is to explain Azulon's hatred of Ozai, there are other possible reasons why Azulon might treat Ozai TheUnfavorite without saying that Ozai was conceived by complete accident, such as being disappointment in his abilities or treating him like a backup tool in the event that Iroh might die instead of a son.

* It looks like Azula's lightning just made a direct hit on someone for the third season in a row. OnceASeason, someone falls victim to it.

* If that mask is the easily-recognizable Water Spirit character from a popular play, why was Zuko's SecretIdentity dubbed "the Blue Spirit" in Season 1?

*** Did it said that Ozai caused the death of Ilah by childbirth? Nothing in the Avatar series implies that. And the name ''Ozai'' means "great wealth", "king", or "proudly carry" according to various translation sources. None of the meanings even come close to the word calamity. And why does it take twenty years or so to ''accidentally'' have another child? If it's to explain Azulon's hatred of Ozai, there are other reasons why Azulon might treat Ozai TheUnfavorite without saying that Ozai was conceived by complete accident, such as being disappointment in his abilities or treating him like a backup tool in the event that Iroh might die instead of a son. None of this is confirmed, mind you, but neither is the "death by childbirth" theory.

*** To elaborate even further, there's a reason why Zuko chose that particular mask over the other. Zuko and Azula would reenact the final scene of ''Love Amongst Dragons'', with Azula being the Dragon Emperor and Zuko the villainous Water Spirit (which had the Blue Spirit Mask). Azula being the Dragon Emperor and Zuko being the Water Spirit represent the fortunes of their initial appearance: Azula being lucky and victorious while Zuko is the ButtMonkey forced into the role of a villain.

*** Did it said that Ozai caused the death of Ilah by childbirth? Nothing in the Avatar series implies that. And the name ''Ozai'' means "great wealth", "king", or "proudly carry" according to various translation sources. None of the meanings even come close to the word calamity. And why does it take twenty years or so to ''accidentally'' have another child? There are other reasons why Azulon might treat Ozai the unfavorite without saying that Ozai was conceived by complete accident, such as being disappointment in his abilities or treating him like a backup tool in the event that Iroh might die instead of a son. None of this is confirmed, mind you, but neither is the "death by childbirth" theory.

*** Did it said that Ozai caused the death of Ilah by childbirth? Nothing in the Avatar series implies that. And the name ''Ozai'' means "great wealth", "king", or "proudly carry" according to various translation sources. None of the meanings even come close to the word calamity. And why does it take twenty years or so to ''accidentally'' have another child? There are other reasons why Azulon might treat Ozai the unfavorite without saying that Ozai was conceived by complete accident, such as being disappointment in his abilities or treating him like a backup tool in the event that Iroh might die instead of a son. None of this is confirmed, mind you, but neither is the ''death by childbirth'' theory.

*** Did it said that Ozai caused the death of Ilah by childbirth? Nothing in the Avatar series implies that. And the name ''Ozai'' means "great wealth", "king", or "proudly carry" according to various translation sources. None of the meanings even come close to the word calamity.

* Uh oh, did Azula's just kill someone again? It looks like Zuko was too late this time, or was he? Someone was hit for sure by her lightning bolt, because someone did yell "NO!"

* Hey wait a minute, Azula's just attempted to kill someone again...who did Azula's lightning hit in the final pages of Part 2? It looks like Zuko was too late this time, or was he? Someone was hit for sure, because someone did yell "NO!"

* After being threatened into marriage then told she would never see her parents or friends again, do you really think the consummation of their marriage was completely consensual?

*** Then why does Azulon have a second son in the first place? And there's no excuse for Azulon for Ozai was born around 20 years after Iroh, based on the appearances. If Azulon wants Iroh to be the Firelord no matter, it would be strange that he even sired Ozai at all unless he has a reason to. He might heard of the prophecy of the Fire Sages too late, and had to get another son to fulfill the prophecy. As for Azula, given that Ozai decides to show off his children's talents just right after Iroh lost his son, it would have been a tad insult to Azulon.

** It's not clear if they were part of the troupe, or if it was a simple village production.

* This troper thought it would have been brilliant if Ursa was using the show as an excuse to see her lover, even if they wouldn't be able to meet face-to-face. But apparently Ikem is connected with Giant Fire-eating Wolf Spirit, so it might as well have been just a bittersweet way to remember happier days back in her village.

* If everything revealed in volume 1 is indeed true, then it explains why Azula is a firebending prodigy and Zuko isn't. [[spoiler: Azula is descended from both Avatar Roku and the Fire Royal Family, a combination that the fire sages predicted would produce extremely powerful firebenders. This may also explain why only Azula (as far as we've seen) generates blue fire when firebending. However, if Zuko is indeed not Ozai's biological son, then he wouldn't have benefitted from the Royal bloodline, leaving him a weaker (or at least less naturally talented) firebender than Azula.]]
** To clarify the above: [[spoiler: Ursa, the granddaughter of Avatar Roku, is the mother of both Zuko and Azula, giving them both Avatar bloodlines. However, as of volume 1, Zuko's father is NOT Ozai, but prezumably Ikem, meaning he doesn't have the Royal bloodline. Azula, on the other hand, IS Ozai's daughter, meaning she has both Avatar and Royal bloodlines in her, thus making her the natural firebending prodigy that she is and that the fire sages predicted such a descendant would be.]]
** Or it could explain [[spoiler: why Zuko wasn't evenly matched with Azula until the series finale. When Ozai read the letter about Zuko's alleged heritage, it must have made Ozai more distance with Zuko in terms of relationship and teaching because Ozai was unsure if Zuko was truly his son. Azula, on the other hand, Ozai was sure that she was his child and thus held her more passionately than he did with Zuko. This expectation is what made Azula a skill perfectionist and Zuko a lame turtleduck in firebending. It wasn't until Zuko gained lessons from Iroh as well as the Sun Warriors that Zuko's firebending improved dramatically, to the point where he can still firebend after enduring the firebending extinguishing cooler. The only thing that Azula has over Zuko is her cunning and precision mind, which was taken care of by her insanity.]]
* Many fans are upset that ATLA continued as a comic, but there would have been no way to explain slip [[spoiler: Zuko's alleged heritage]] pass the radars of a children's show.

* After being threaten into marriage then told she would never see her parents or friends again, do you really think the consummation of their marriage was completely consensual?

*** To elaborate even further, there's a reason why Zuko chose that particular mask over the other. Zuko and Azula would reenact the final scene of ''Love Amongst Dragons'', with Azula being the Dragon Emperor and Zuko the villainous Water Spirit (which had the Blue Spirit Mask). Azula being the Dragon Emperor and Zuko being the Water Spirit represent the fortunes of their initial appearance: Azula being lucky and victorious while Zuko is TheButtMonkey forced into the role of a villain.

** Backup Bloodline is most likely answer. Since Iroh and Lu Ten were soldiers in the war, there's a good chance that both of them might get killed. And if Iroh is the only heir, that would mean that the Royal Family's bloodline would be extinct should either of them die in the war, and that could possibly lead to a blood feud civil war. Thus it's good insurance to have additional sons, even if you don't show the same affection to them.

* Azulon arranges the marriage of Ursa and Ozai to combine the bloodlines of the Fire Nation royal family and Avatar Roku to produce a more powerful heir. But we know from "Zuko Alone" that Azulon favored Iroh and didn't want Ozai to succeed him. Why bother with such eugenics on what you intend to be the Spare branch of your family? That could be explained if Iroh's wife was still alive at that point, so, to put it another way, this whole exchange makes it seem like Azulon intends Ozai's descendants to be his heirs, but we know that he was adamant that Iroh would succeed him.

* Azulon arranges the marriage of Ursa and Ozai to combine the bloodlines of the Fire Nation royal family and Avatar Roku to produce a more powerful heir. But we know from "Zuko Alone" that Azulon favored Iroh and didn't want Ozai to succeed him. Why bother with such eugenics on what you intend to be the Spare branch of your family?

** This has been mentioned on the WMG page, but Azulon was not impressed by Zuko's firebending abilities at all, and likely regarded him as a sort of failure. He took the first chance he could at simply killing him off, opening up the throne to his experiment's successful result, Azula. Perhaps Azulon was more successful in getting rid of Lu Ten, who might have already shown just how talented at firebending he was by the time Ozai and Ursa were engaged/married. The Fire Sages told him that combining Roku's genes with Fire Nation genes would produce a powerful heir, but there was a problem: Iroh, who Azulon did seem to care about, didn't want to remarry and try having more children in his forties or fifties.