YMMV / Avatar: The Last Airbender "Sozin's Comet, Part 1 - The Phoenix King"

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • The reason Ozai leaves Azula behind. Is it because he's lost faith in her and doesn't trust her after she lied about Aang's death? Is he just a narcissistic sociopath who wants all the glory for himself and sees Azula as nothing more than another pawn? Or is he sincere when he says he needs her to look after the Fire Nation while he's gone and doesn't see why making her Fire Lord then rendering the title worthless would be a slight?
  • Zuko's reasons for not telling the Gaang about the war meeting—was it because he assumed they were all on the same page that his father needed to be defeated no later than Sozin’s comet? Or, was Zuko worried they would blame him for what might be potentially countless deaths? After all, it was his knowledge that gave his father and sister the idea to do, and Zuko knew he dug himself into an even deeper hole taking part in the meeting.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Sokka splitting the Ozai dummy's head (which is a melon) in half is a tense scene that forces Aang to grapple with the prospect of killing Ozai. Momo proceeding to eat the insides of the head? Pretty hilarious in a messed up kind of way.
• Harsher in Hindsight: When the Gaang split up to look for Aang, Toph latches onto Zuko's arm, cheerfully stating that "everyone else has had a life-changing field trip with Zuko. Now it's my turn!" Later, she tries to tell him about her troubled relationship with her parents; specifically how they gave her everything she wanted materially, but she never felt like they gave her what she needed most: their love. Zuko blows her off, and she grumbles, "this is the worst field trip ever." It's Played for Laughs, but proves to be Harsher in Hindsight for those who've seen The Legend of Korra, as Toph's unresolved issues with her parents bleeds into her relationship with her own future daughters.
• Strawman Has a Point: When Aang says he can't kill the Fire Lord, Sokka says "Sure you can! You're the Avatar! If it's in the name of keeping balance I'm sure the universe will forgive you!" Aang thinks he'll damage his spirit if he kills, but Avatar Yangchen later says that his sole spiritual duty is to protect the balance of the world. If that means killing Fire Lord Ozai (Aang even says "Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person and the world would probably be better off without him"), then Sokka is right!

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