YT - The Worldbuilding in Zuko Alone - Avatar The Last Airbender

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  • 31 Oct 2020
  • 20d ago

The Worldbuilding in Zuko Alone | Avatar: The Last Airbender

We explore the character of Zuko.

Environmental Exposition

Information delivered through what is shown in the surroundings.

The setting shows the story

Zuko wanders through a dried up grassland. Everything is dry, hot and DEAD. There are remnants of Earth Kingdom projectiles laying around.
→ A battle happened here a long time ago.

  • The world feels lived in
    • Even more enjoyable upon rewatch, because we find new observations and connections

The architecture shows the story

  • Houses were made of wood
  • We also know that water benders build ice cities, fire benders can mold metal buildings
  • Big cities/strongholds with many Earthbenders like military outposts and Ba Sing Se can afford Earthbenders to build out of stone
    • Stone vs Wood architecture shows wealth disparity

→ Suggests that

  1. There may be not a lot of Earthbenders left after the war
  2. Or, the Earthbenders were outsourced as military.
  3. The Earth Nation was a HUGE nation with a low bender-to-nonbender ratio
  4. Peasant Earthbenders are conscripted into the army, taking away Earthbending economic power from villages, and the villagers stay poor

The people tell the story

The antagonist is the only (Earth)bender in the town, named Gao.
→ Those with Earthbending have more influence and power

“It’s the hidden web of information that makes your world feel more real, more cohesive, without the viewer or reader ever realizing why.”

“These are facts about the world that work seamlessly into the plot, giving the impression of depth, without needing to tell where that depth comes from.”

“it’s not things being made up, it’s things being included with knowledge of how the rest of the world works.”

The Ba Sing Se Doll

  • Child Azula is given a doll, described as the pinnacle of Ba Sing Se fashion.
  • Few episodes later, in Katara and Toph’s episode, we see it’s similar, but not like that
  • The doll is more conservative, more traditional.

What is Worldbuilding?

When constructing a fictional world, it’s just as much constructing

  1. Tone
  2. Mood
  3. Atmosphere

LOTR

Lord of the Rings started as a magical fantasy, with grand magical events. But by the time of LOTR, they’re all gone. A somber sense of a colorful world has been lost.

Atmosphere of the World

  • So far it’s been all great
    • Exception of the Southern Air Temple
    • It’s fun! Hopeful!
    • Win after win, every episode!
    • Sacrificial characters do so on their own terms, winning!
  • Zuko Alone challenges this Atmosphere

Zuko Alone centers around “LOSS”.

  • Ganzu’s son is off fighting in the war
  • Senzu is captured and likely killed
  • How Zuko lost his mother
  • How Iroh lost Lu Ten, his son

So far we’ve seen the war empowering individuals and peoples to become heroic, to stand up against tyranny

  • But here we see the war does not make the Earth Kingdom united
    • It makes everyone lesser
    • It makes everyone divided.
  • Brings out opportunists like Gao and the Dai Li
  • Even Zuko is rejected, though he saved the village

The loss and rejection and pain isn’t given any justification to make comfortable, or any catharsis or framing that makes it feel like it happened for a reason.

This isn’t a hopeful, idealistic world. This is a war-torn world wanting the end of the war.

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