Villain Therapy — ZUKO from Avatar: The Last Airbender

How do you restore your honor? How do you get rid of shame and grow into humility?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are answering the call of the commenters by doing a Villain Therapy for Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender! They talk about Zuko’s transformation from unlikeable kid to someone who makes your heart ache, as we learn more about his backstory and follow his tumultuous journey. Jonathan dives into Zuko’s trauma, both the major and micro traumas that shape his character. Alan talks about why this show may have one of the best intergenerational stories he’s ever seen.

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, Alan Seawright, and Corinne Demyanovich
Edited by: David Sant
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

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[lena]

I love the scenes where Zuko visits Iroh in prison. Iroh is imprisoned, but the angles make it look like Zuko is behind bars. Ach... ✨cinema. ✨

[desimosi]

Oh God I want an Iroh episode so bad. That man was the uncle/father figure we all needed.

[wolfywox]

One of my absolute favorite Zuko moments is his apology to Iroh. Not just the fact that he aplogizes (which he absolutely needed to), but the fact that he's so confused by Iroh's forgiveness. It's not something that he's accustomed to, but it's something he absolutely earned.

[Red-in-Green]

There’s a really subtle lore detail in Zuko’s burning. You might notice that there really aren’t any other burned firebenders, to the point where it helps him hide in the Earth Kingdom because no one thinks it’s POSSIBLE for a firebender to be burned. And that’s generally true. For a firebender to be burned, they have to let their guard down completely.

Zuko LET that happen. It’s not just that his father humiliated and scarred him in front of a crowd. Zuko thought he deserved it.

[sandravermeulen]

A lot of people missed the early hints of who Zuko really is. In one of the first episodes he promises to leave the watertribe alone if Aang comes with him. Aang does and they leave. Ozai or Azula wouldn't have kept their word.
The reason Zuko got the scar was because he spoke up against it when they were planning to use young soldiers as cannon futter.
So in his heart he was always good and caring. He was punished for it every time.

[vondreclark]

this show is over 10 years old and Zuko still has one of, if not, THEE best redemption arc in any story i’ve seen

[thehopeofeden]

How AMAZING is it that CT has gone from going “we can’t do ATLA or any TV shows because they’re too long” to a half-hour villain therapy on Zuko, one of the best arcs in TV history?!!

[Facundo]

"Having trauma doesn't make you a villain. YOUR CHOICES will make you a villain" so true.

[angelbts]

Mai saying "that doesn't excuse the way you've been acting" is one of the best moments. The Beach is such a brilliant episode

[sjewel]

THE SCREAM THAT CAME OUT WHEN I SAW THE NOTIFICATION

[jalapenoofjustice]

a detail I love about Zuko's integration in the Gaang is that different people start to trust him at different rates because of their history. Toph is the first to trust him, because she wasn't there when he was hunting Aang and she had that conversation with Iroh. Katara takes the longest to trust him, because she put her trust in him before anyone else and he betrayed that trust.

[TheRisingIcarus]

It's sad to me how Zuko doesn't realise his father meant to give him an impossible task. No avatar had been seen for a century, so he probably didn't expect him to succeed and return and didn't want him to. Yet Zuko is so determined to please his father and regain his honor, blinded by pride

[eaglescout]

The fact they make you think he's turning a new leaf but then he doubles down on his old ways... but he still ends up flipping. Just excellent story telling.

[bradiedean]

In addition to having one of the best character arcs ever written, Zuko is absolutely hilarious without almost ever meaning to be 😂

[Figgy]

Something especially cruel is that as no one had seen the avatar for 98+ years and there was no reason to believe it was possible for Zuko to ever find him. He gave him an impossible task so that he could never come home, and yet Zuko still hadn't given up on it, and after 3 years his efforts and tenacity were finally rewarded with the reappearance of the Avatar, reinforcing the sentiment that if he just keeps fighting things he will make it in the end. He can't recognize how cruelly he's been treated.

[jaredanderson]

The biggest scene you didn't include is when Zuko comes to apologize to Iroh, and Iroh accepts him back fully. He was so used to failure meaning rejection and shame, and this time he knew he actually deserved a cold shoulder, but Iroh forgives him and embraces him instantly. Most powerful moment in the show.

[rach]

“All hail Fire Lord Zuko” is probably one of the most cathartic lines ever written 😭

[ladymisuto]

What I love most about the scene at 25:04, is that despite the fact that Iroh is the one in the cell, it’s Zuko that is shown behind bars. In every shot of this scene, Iroh is shown whole, but there are always the cell bars in front of Zuko’s image. Iroh may be in the cell, but it’s Zuko who is locked away. It is such a visual masterpiece.

[Licoryce]

A villain Therapy for Azula would be fantastic. A look into what it does to someone who is able to achieve the conditional love of an abusive parent and how is changes you. I grew up as the Azula in the family dynamic, the perfect one, and it is such a crazy experience trying to meet those expectations when you are aware of what will happen to you the moment that you fall short (my brother was the Zuko).

[CaptainOfAverages]

"Everyone's behavior makes sense to them... when you judge them, they close up."

So much wisdom. Everyone in the world needs to understand this. From family's to lovers to workplaces to politics.