the comet enhanced Agni Kai in the finale of Avatar The Last Airbender is...
well technically speaking it ends with a third-party takedown rather than an
outright win but on the other hand it is the most beautiful and emotionally
resonant fight I think I've ever seen and in this video we're going to talk
about why. Spoiler the ending is one of the reasons. my name is Jill Bearup and stage
combat ie pretending to fight for stage and screen is a hobby of mine so I'm
always up for a 'what you can learn from a character's fighting style?' discussion
whether that character is played by a real-life human or animated. to clarify
before everyone jumps into the comment section too late the Agni Kai most
likely ends the moment Azula tries to shoot Katara with lightning. I couldn't
find anything in the code duello which specifically said that if you injure a
bystander that you forfeit the duel however it was considered extremely
dishonorable to do so. Involving a third party in a one-on-one duel of honour
really a big no-no you'd think she was a bad person or something but and we'll
get to this a bit I love how they use the unexpectedness of the ending to
hammer home the show's themes of love and friends and choices. let's talk about
some of the other reasons like how amazing it looks the colors are gorgeous
the contrasting blue and orange fire blasts are not only beautiful and
distinctive in the red saturated landscape they're really easy to read
compared to the average firebending match and what we read from their
comparative size and ferocity to anything we've seen before is a) comets
make firebenders amazing and b) Zuko is a match for Azula now. from a martial
arts technique standpoint the firebending style that seems to be
favored by the royal family in the fire nation is much more sweepy and flowy and
pretty than the style used by common or garden firebenders and so it looks
great from that perspective to most non royal firebenders we see have a much
more take your horse stance and blast away with your kicks and punches kind
of approach to things which definitely make sense for people who would often
fight as part of a small group or in military formation contrast Zhao for
example who only rarely uses his feet to firebend. in fact in his Agni Kai with
Zuko I don't think I saw him use a kick even once. And while the style of Zuko
and Azula's firebending is much more flashy than the average firebender it's
still distinct to each of them and very indicative of the characters which is
good because it's not how it looks or how it sounds
that makes this fight so emotionally resonant it's the back story that has
got us to this point and the way the fight helps to hammer that home
Azula's style is very graceful and to this point has always been very precise she's
got her two finger firebending and her lightning generation and she is a
perfectionist her firebending may still be powerful and effective but she's not
balanced any more her style does not require wide stance grounding the way an
earthbender or even a regular firebender's would but to be so agile and
nimble you have to be balanced you have to be centered within yourself and she's
not and no wonder honestly she faces Zuko alone having spent the time before
her coronation banishing everyone who does anything wrong and also people who
haven't done anything wrong and are concerned for her. her breakdown proper
begins a few episodes before when Mai and then Ty Lee turn against her and
that moment in the prison has broken something very fundamental in Azula in a
straw that broke the camel's back kind of way
her father was only ever concerned with how she reflected on him her mother was
powerless to stop Ozai's twisting of her personality and then to save Zuko's life
her mother had to abandon them both at a young age
Azula is tragic and complex and awful and sympathetic and she's one of my
favorite villains for these reasons. she tries so hard to
be perfect but in the end even perfect isn't good enough because there was no
one consistently in her life who really cared about her as a person and not just
as someone who could help them or make them look good her mother had to leave
her father well yeah Zuko at least had a row but Azula had no one
yeah I'm not counting those two. her friends eventually choose Zuko in Mai's
case or Mai in Ty Lee's case over her and it finished her and there is no one
who can love her and stand up to her except for Zuko because he does love her
even as he knows that she needs to be beaten this is another reason that it's
so poignant and why it sounds the way it does the fire is quiet the music isn't
climactic it's all sadness and strings it's not a victory it's a tragedy
brought on by Ozai by Azulon by Sozin. Aang and Ozai's fight is dramatic and
eventually at least somewhat triumphant but this is just sad
it didn't have to be this way and at least one of the participants is sorry
about that and the other participant lest we forget is at most 15 years old
Zuko has to beat Azula has to take the throne has to restore the honor of the
Fire Nation and now he can but he takes no joy in finally getting one over on
his sister because Zuko is the character who grows most through the series. Aang
Katara Toph Sokka they all grow and change and mature
during the series but Zuko is the only one who does a complete 180 or possibly
that should be a 540 because it's a 180 than a 180 than a 180 but for real this
time? Never mind Zuko has found peace with who
he is and what his destiny is and it shows in how he fights. The first time we
see Azula and Zuko get into it we play to azula's strengths she's quick she's
agile she's precise she lets Zuko attack she counter-attacks with little apparent
effort and then she goes for him with the lightning which Iroh has to redirect
Zuko wears himself out trying to attack her but she is just better than him it
never would have worked when Zuko fought show in the first Agni
Kai that we see in the series Iroh tells him to break his root but that wouldn't
really work against Azula's style she's too all over the place. We call back to
both these fights in the final showdown this time
Zuko takes root and Azula cannot break it that's not to say he never moves I
mean he does his signature breakdancing spin kick that we saw in his Agni Kai
with Zhao as well as on several other occasions through the series and of
course there are the moves which are reminiscent of the dancing dragon
but while Azula is as maneuverable as ever Zuko is steady. eEverything he has
done has led to this moment going to the Sun warriors and understanding fire as
like the Sun inside you; throwing off the shame of being burned and dishonored and
disowned by his own father; finding his uncle again; and understanding the
tragedy of Azula. He knows her he sees what has happened to her he feels sorry for
her and now he can beat her. It's a contrast to the first time we see Zuko
and Azula fight instead of Zuko wearing himself out trying to hit Azula it's
the other way round and of course for one hit ko finishing move isn't
to work here anymore now is it "no lightning today! what's the matter? afraid
I'll redirect it?" typically of course Azula then changes the rules the first time we
see Zuko and Azula fight it's Iroh who redirects the lightning to
save Zuko's life this time it's Zuko who redirects the lightning albeit not as
efficiently to save Katara leaving aside for a moment that whole if
you injure a third party that's probably instant disqualification thing we hammer
home here how little Azula thinks of people who
aren't her. Azula sees people as her father has told her to see people as
things which can be used and then discarded Zuko knows setting out that he
can't beat Azula alone and so he brings Katara
who is his friend whose trust and forgiveness and respect he has earned
friendship don't you love it but then when he sees his sister he works out
that something has changed and so instead of teaming up with Katara to
take Azula down he accepts the Agni Kai because he knows this time he can
beat her "and this way no one else has to get hurt" FORESHADOWING! Katara is there
with Zuko because they are friends because they understand that they are
more likely to beat Azula as a team and so it proves because Zuko saves Katara
from the lightning bolt but then Katara save Zuko also. not to mention that
technically speaking it's Katara who beats Azula. we see that same ferocity
and comet powered firebending turn on someone who doesn't have enhanced powers
right now and it's close it's very close but in the end
Azula is beaten with the power and accuracy that we have come to expect
from master Katara and so Azula is beaten and broken and
crying and it breaks your heart because how much chance did she ever really have
to be normal? Zuko breaks with his father but his father has already broken Azula
In the end it's teamwork that beats Azula it's friendship it's
compassion and it's all there in that final fight such a great fight and such
a great show if you're interested in analyzing movie fights then may I direct
you to my other videos thank you to my patrons as always thank you all for
watching and I will see you next time