History YMMV / TheShadowOfKyoshi

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Yangchen is noted for having failed to find balance between spirits and humans, something Aang would have to face with in ''The Rift''. Many fans remember also the general disposition of spirits being [[FantasticRacism constantly racist]] and disrespectful towards humanity in ''The Legend of Korra''. Combining the two, it makes one wonder exactly how angry we're supposed to be with Yangchen for failing in her duties, or whether the actions of the time meant that Yangchen ''had'' to come down harder on the spirits to protect humanity.

** Yangchen tells Kyoshi that she could spend a hundred years talking to a hundred previous Avatars and still not know what to do. In Literature/TheDawnOfYangchen, we find out that Yangchen [[spoiler: did exactly that.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: [[spoiler: Kuruk had to kill the dark spirits, with each victory taking years off his life. Korra would later learn a method that would allow spirits to be purified. If only Kuruk could have figured that out by then, it may have benefited both spirits and humans in the long run.]]

** Kuruk's thinking and understanding of the four elements was actually very much ahead of its time. He got into arguments with his earthbending teacher about Kuruk's stance being a waterbender despite using Earthbending. Kuruk himself realized that the four elements are actually one in four different forms, and thus he had a much better understanding that the four elements were indeed united, information we'd learn from Iroh and Pathik in the series proper. It would also be revisited come ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', during Korra's battle against Kuvira in which she Metalbends, but uses strokes and movements akin to waterbending.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Yangchen is noted for having failed to find balance between spirits and humans, something Aang would have to face with in ''The Rift''. Many fans remember also the general disposition of spirits being [[FantasticRacism constantly racist]] and disrespectful towards humanity in ''The Legend of Korra''. Combining the two, it makes one wonder exactly how much we're supposed to be angry with Yangchen for failing in her duties; or if the actions of the time meant that Yangchen ''had'' to come down harder on the spirits to protect humanity.
* HarsherInHindsight: [[spoiler: Kuruk had to kill the dark spirits; which each victory taking years off his life. Korra would later learn a method that would allow spirits to be purified. If only Kuruk could have figured that out by then, it may have benefit both spirits and humans in the long run.]]

** In this novel we learn that in the Fire Nation it is the greatest slight to touch someone's hair (At least in public). Fast forward to the beach episode where [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/b02503b31cbc6baf5d437c791ea15cfd/94cfd3bc9450ae32-ce/s1280x1920/ed489d8d2250f1b060bac4a80ccd0306f43efd5a.png Azula did this]]. And then there's the fact that Aang had to grab Ozai's head to debend him.
** Kuruk's thinking and understanding of the four elements was actually very much ahead of its time. He got into arguments with his Earthbending teacher about Kuruk's stance being a waterbender despite using Earthbending. Kuruk himself realized that the four elements are actually one in four different forms and thus he had an better understanding that the four elements were indeed united, information we'd learn from Iroh and Pathik in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. It would also be revisited come ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', during Korra's battle against Kuvira in which she Metalbends, but uses strokes and movements akin to waterbending.

* HilariousInHindsight: In this novel we learn that in the Fire Nation it is the greatest slight to touch someone's hair (At least in public). Fast forward to the beach episode where [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/b02503b31cbc6baf5d437c791ea15cfd/94cfd3bc9450ae32-ce/s1280x1920/ed489d8d2250f1b060bac4a80ccd0306f43efd5a.png Azula did this]].
** And then there's the fact that Aang had to grab Ozai's head to debend him.
** Kuruk's thinking and understanding of the four elements was actually very much ahead of it's time. He got into arguments with his Earthbending teacher about Kuruk's stance being a waterbender despite using Earthbending. Kuruk himself realized that the four elements are actually one in four different forms and thus he had an better understanding that the four elements were indeed united, information we'd learn from Iroh and Pathik in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. It would also be revisited come ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', during Korra's battle against Kuvira in which she Metalbends, but uses strokes and movements akin to waterbending.
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Kuruk. While seen as benevolently fun-loving based on his very limited appearances before ''Rise'', Kyoshi fans who read the first book began to share her low opinion of him. ''Shadow'' goes much deeper into the tragedies of his short life, and helps contextualize ''why'' he made the decision he made and acted the way he did.

** Kuruk's thinking and understanding of the four elements was actually very much ahead of it's time. He got into arguments with his Earthbending teacher about Kuruk's stance being a waterbender despite using Earthbending. Kuruk himself realized that the four elements are actually one in four different forms and thus he had an better understanding that the four elements were indeed united, information we'd learn from Iroh and Pathik in WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender. It would also be revisited come WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra, during Korra's battle against Kuvira in which she Metalbends, but uses strokes and movements akin to waterbending.