Line #18 TearJerker/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch


1	The whole trilogy is this, especially Ursa's story.
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4	! Tropes:
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6	* Ursa's [[DarkAndTroubledPast beautifully tragic backstory]]: Years ago, she was but an aspiring young actress in Hira'a, who lived a comfortable life with her high class parents, and was just engaged to her [[ChildhoodFriendRomance childhood friend]], [[NiceGuy sweet but]] [[LovableCoward "cowardly"]] Ikem. [[WaxingLyrical Then, everything changed when the royal family arrived]]... Swept up in a political marriage to Ozai, Ursa was taken away from her home. Ikem tried to stop them, but when the royal family threatened his life, Ursa [[CruelToBeKind told him she gladly accepted Ozai's proposal]] and [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim tearfully told him to go home]]. At their wedding reception, Ozai told Ursa that [[KickTheDog she would never see her family again]], now that she belonged to him. And from there, her married life would go downhill...
7	** Just the fact that Ozai had ''[[ForTheEvulz no practical reason]]'' to taunt Ursa that she would ''never'' be allowed to see her parents again for the rest of her life. Yet, he still decided to do so, during their wedding reception. All the while, poor Ursa's [[OhCrap expression]] speaks volumes of how devastated she is by this unpleasant news. No doubt Ursa had a lousy honeymoon...
8	** The fact that the one person Ursa trusted to secretly send her letters to her family (and Ikem) [[spoiler: was a spy for Ozai, meaning [[YankTheDogsChain those letters never reached Hira'a at all]].]]
9	** The poor heartbroken look on Ursa's face when Ozai tells her [[spoiler: he recently sent an assassin to kill Ikem. (Thankfully, he was bluffing since he had just learned said assassin had failed to even find Ikem).]]
10	** Upon being banished, Ursa returned to Hira'a to live with her parents. But an unfamiliar little girl greeted her instead and informed Ursa that the old magistrate and his wife had died, leaving Ursa absolutely alone. The next panel is of Ursa crying on the empty theater stage in the very early morning, apparently having been there all night, as it was the only familiar place left to her.
11	*** Fridge-Sadness: This means that neither Zuko nor Azula ever got a chance to meet their kindlier grandparents on their mother's side of the family.
12	** Ursa is also ''extremely paranoid''. Despite her exhaustion and grief at leaving her children behind as well as learning her parents are dead, she's still cautious enough not to tell anyone who she actually is. The second Noren calls Ursa by name, she assumes that the kind "stranger" is a spy sent by Ozai and she immediately gets up and tries to flee.
13	* Ikem wasn't faring any better. After she left, [[HeroicBSOD he went to live in Forgetful Valley to despair]], becoming a [[BeardOfSorrow unkempt hermit]]. [[spoiler: Even after he got a different face and started over as Noren, he never truly moved on. As indicated, when Ursa later asks why he didn't start a family, he sadly answers "[[TheMourningAfter You know why]]".]]
14	** [[spoiler: Ikem describing what it was like after Ursa was taken. For as long as he could remember, everyone in Hira'a saw them as "Ikem and Ursa", always close like a set of twins. But when she left, Ikem describes that people would stare at him as though his face had been disfigured. Poignantly, he says he sure ''felt'' like he had been disfigured by his grief at losing Ursa.]]
15	* It's a small thing, but there's something prophetic about Ikem warning a young Ursa that if she goes along with Ozai's marriage proposal, it would entail a feeling of never belonging. Sure enough, in her [[spoiler: fake]] letter to Ikem years later, she admits to him that he was right all along: the pain of being Ozai's wife wasn't worth sacrificing the freedom and happiness she could've known in Hira'a with Ikem.
16	** Even though it turns out [[spoiler: the letter was a fake meant to [[FeedTheMole see if the letters were being intercepted]], she does reveal to a livid Ozai that the sentiment behind the letters were true. When he furiously demands an answer for why Ursa would dare write a lie about Ikem being the father, she lividly guesses that perhaps she wrote this letter with the intent to [[KickTheDog spite]] her nasty husband: She dearly wishes her sweet son Zuko ''wasn't'' related to the cruel and odious Ozai. This instantly comes back to bite her when Ozai promises he'll make her pay [[RevengeByProxy by tormenting their son]].]]
17	*** Ozai's promise is a testament to the ''scope'' of his cruelty towards his son: [[spoiler: He ''knows'' Zuko's his biological child, but he'd rather get back at Ursa by treating his son like a bastard child and deny Zuko the love and fatherly affection every child deserves.]]
18	* As a little boy, Zuko once had a horrible nightmare where his bedroom and belongings were burning, and Azula was laughing at him. His mother took him to her room to assure him, showing a [[UsedToBeASweetKid sweet, infant Azula innocently asleep]]. If only Zuko had known then [[DramaticIrony how prophetic his dreams were concerning his fate]], and how Azula would take great pleasure in his suffering.
19	* We get to see for ourselves the very ''[[CallForward moment]]'' Ozai told Zuko how the latter was "[[KickTheDog lucky to be born]]". The poor kid looks devastated, as though he was just stabbed in the back.
20	* There's having to see the same flashback from "Zuko Alone" starting with the moment Zuko finds out his father is going to kill him on his grandfather's orders up until the last time Ursa left his bedroom, this time from ''Ursa's'' perspective. With Zuko's life in danger, Ursa had to make the most heart-wrenching decision that will mean never having to see her children again once Azulon is poisoned.
21	* Fridge-Tearjerker: [[spoiler: Ursa choosing to forget her palace life ''and'' her children is sad enough on its own. But it gets sadder when one realizes the scope of why she made her choice. We as the readers know it would be five years time before Zuko became Firelord, and Ursa just had to bide her time until then. ''[[DramaticIrony But she didn't know that]]''. For as long as Ozai lived, she would never see Zuko or Azula ever again. And if Sozin and Azulon are any indication, Fire Lords can live a long time. This isn't just Ursa making a somewhat [[ParentsAsPeople selfish and flawed choice]]. This is her sadly coming to terms that [[DespairEventHorizon she'll never see her children again]].]]
22	* In the present day, what sets off the adventure is Zuko trying to make peace with his imprisoned father and institutionalized sister. Why? Because during his studies, Zuko's teacher shares an Earth Kingdom philosphy about how a good ruler treats their nation the way they treat their family, and how a ruler who respects their family with dignity will ultimately do the same for the nation. This gives Zuko pause, as he realizes [[DysfunctionJunction the state of his family]] could be a troubling sign of how he'll ultimately run his nation: [[BigScrewedUpFamily his father is an abusive monster sitting in prison, his sister has lost her sanity, and his mother was banished]]. Although it's not to say he's to blame for any of this, it's still a sobering recap of how Zuko doesn't exactly have the most functional family in the Fire Nation.
23	* [[spoiler: The [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet nature of the story's ending]], with most of Azula's issues (and sanity) still unresolved, and the future status of how Zuko, Ursa, Ikem, and Kiyi's familial situation will organize themselves is still very up in the air.]]
24	** Azula's health was failing hard. Each and every one of the hallucinations she's had of her mother is of her mother telling her that she loves her. Azula is actively repelling the advances of her mother with rage. And her motive? [[spoiler: She wanted to kill her mother to rid herself of that nagging voice in her head.]] However, when you know of her past from the animated series, you realize that her rage and the repulsion are the psychological damage and emotional neglect trying to actively beat back the truth. And unfortunately, that's how psychosis presents: Her active mind cannot communicate any ideas of love and peace until the near end that she's actively lashing out against her own subconscious about her mother's own love.
25	** At one point, one of the Ursa hallucinations tries to reason with Azula that she's been blinded by the "mask" of fear and intimidation she's worn her whole life. If she could only remove it, she would see the beauty of her true destiny. To this, Azula spits back that her destiny ''is'' to take the throne and have ultimate power. But in the next panel, for just one instant, ''she's uncertain''. She practically questions herself as to whether being another in a long line of power-hungry Fire Lords is what she really wants out of life.
26	** Azula's [[spoiler: final scene in the trilogy, in which she confronts her amnesiac, different-faced mother, probably takes the cake for the most heart-wrenching moment. Just when you thought she couldn't possibly be more of a JerkassWoobie, she becomes one.]]
27	* And earlier, when Azula's got [[spoiler: Ursa/Noriko pinned against the wall about about to strike:]]
28	--->[[spoiler: '''Ursa/Noriko:''' (''strokes Azula's face'') If what you say is true...if I really am your mother...then I'm sorry I didn't love you enough.]]
29	** ''The look on her face'' [[spoiler:when she realizes Kiyi is her half-sister. [[ShadowArchetype This happy, well adjusted little girl who plays dolls and adores Zuko]] and...]] there is so much wrong with that situation.
30	-->[[spoiler: '''Azula:''' TELL ME, MOTHER: DID YOU HAVE TO HAVE [[ReplacementGoldfish A NEW DAUGHTER]] WHEN THE LAST ONE TURNED OUT TO BE ''SUCH A MONSTER?!'']]
31	** Fridge Sadness: [[spoiler: If one thinks it's sad as is, imagine how Azula feels knowing she's no longer the youngest in her family like she thought she was. It's hard enough dealing with middle-child-syndrome in a stable home. Now amplify it with Azula's current trauma, and you get a rather sobering situation.]]
32	** Poor Kiyi calling out to her mother as her father holds her back for her own safety.
33	--> '''Kiyi''': MOMMY!
34	* Generally, [[spoiler: poor little Kiyi's trauma at what happens: her new friend (Zuko) suddenly turns scary (in her eyes) by insisting that her parents are his parent too, her father reveals several shocking truths he's kept to himself for years, Azula attacks in a violent rage and calls her a replacement for her, and finally, her mother gets a completely new face and identity.]]
35	* A few moments before the above, Zuko saw Noriko, Ikem and Kiyi sitting around a small, but comfortable dinner table ready to enjoy a dinner together in each other's company. Zuko literally had no idea how to process such a scene like that.
36	* Zuko's repeated attempts to reach out to Azula, the open envy with which he watches Sokka and Katara, and the look of absolute ''heartbreak'' on his face when he decides that he can no longer justify putting those around him in danger for the sake of giving his sister a second chance.
37	-->'''Azula:''' Zuzu, how could you be so naïve?!
38	-->'''Zuko:''' You're right. I ''have'' been naïve. ''(to Sokka and Katara)'' Take her down.
39	* Then, of course, his last scene with Azula.
40	-->'''Zuko:''' Come back, please! I can help you! I ''want'' to help you!
41	-->'''Azula:''' Same as always, Zuko...even when you're strong, you're weak.
42	** Azula's retort and the panel bring something to the forefront. Even though Azula was just as abused as her brother was, Azula had some degree of autonomy over her actions. This last panel reveals something different. The tears, facial expression and eyes do not match the quote. The tears, body, and eyes are Azula, but the dismissal of Zuko and calling him weak? That's all Ozai. Zuko proclaiming that he'll always love his sister, no matter what, was a much needed intervention for Azula to finally start fighting back mentally against Ozai's teachings.

Context TearJerker / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch