im gonna spend the rest of my life chasing that high I got when I was nine and watched Zuko and Azula’s Final Agni Kai for the first time aren’t I
the music. the cinematography. the raw, unbridled power of their bending. The horrible, beautiful contrast of red and blue flame consuming the frame. zuko’s growth as both a character and a bender compared to Azula’s tragic deterioration. the animation. the music. zuko’s foot slowly sliding towards Azula’s flame but then stabilizes as he grounds himself. his bending clearly drawing from other elemental techniques outside of fire, lending him an upper hand. “no lightning today? what’s the matter? afraid I’ll redirect it?” “oh I’ll show you lightning!” the lightning. THE LIGHTNING. the slow slide of Zuko’s eyes, his face of horror, as he realizes what’s happening. his choice to sacrifice himself to save Katara. the reflection in Katara’s eyes as he’s being struck. the music oh my god the music. Katara running for her life as Azula attacks her, laughing, laughing, victorious, broken. zuko reaching out to katara as he lays dying. “there you are peasant”. the swell of the music, the uncertainty, azula readying her final strike as katara reaches- then a prison of water and ice. the frame of the two girls, frozen in time, azula’s hand mere inches from Katara’s face. katara finally, finally, breathing out, moving, locking azula to the grate, winning a battle against one of the greatest fire benders in the world on the day of sozin’s comet through sheer ingenuity. healing zuko, a star burst scar centered on his chest. the tears of relief. “thank you katara” “I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.” the narrative significance where every season prior Zuko and Katara spent the finale as opponents, battling one another, to the development of them fighting on the same side and saving one another. azula breaking under the weight, no carefully calculated shield, no dignity, but wailing like a child, lost, alone, who just wants her mother. a victory that doesn’t feel like a victory but a tragedy.
