Zhao the Failure - Zhao the Forgotten Conqueror of Nothing (Avatar: The Last Airbender Analysis)

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#Avatar #Zhao #DrUpauli

[DrUpauli]

Correction: Zhao is in the Ember Island players episode but just as a prop at the end of the book 1 recap. Depending on how you interpret the word "acknowledge" I could still be right but that may be a stretch. Doesn't change the point of the video but it is important to mention for accuracy's sake.

Also, the fire nation probably wanted to hide his presence because he was a failure and I probably should've said that in the video

[secretperson]

He wasn't even in the Ember Island Players, Aang's kids didn't recognize him, he wasn't even mentioned by Zuko and Iroh in later seasons

[AzureAetherXx]

its funny watching this because I kinda forgot about Zhao in the greater story of Avatar. That feels very fitting.

[blaziken]

I know it's been a hot couple of years since I've watched avatar, but I actually forgot about zhao until you mentioned him

[slyninja]

This makes me wonder if Fire Lord Zuko simply had Zhao cut out of Fire Nation history books.

"The opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference."

Elie Weasel

[bendu]

Zhao was a fool! I usually respect characters who want to create a legacy, but this guy I’m glad he was forgotten and is forever being tortured in the spirit world by his own failures.

[ivanhunter]

Zhao is a representation of what Zuko would become if he stayed in the Fire Nation

[anibalcasillas]

Wow, I remember in siege of the north Zhao talked about on how he would be remembered for generations but it turns out no remembers him. Imagine if Zhao got out of the spirit world and in republic city, Zhao would expect everyone to recognize him and then Zhao founds that he's a forgotten relic of the past

[justinweber]

It would have been interesting to see Zhao succeed in his plan to eliminate the moon. Not for the mystic context but to let it slowly dawn how badly he screwed up by ruining the tides, and the moon also has an effect on tectonic plates, too if I remember correctly. So even in a strict scientific sense, he's have boned the world.

[doraeguyakaneddie]

Zhao is a pretty underrated character IMO. He never got as much development as other characters

[kingDowahs]

I Love Zhao as a villain mostly due to Jason Isaac’s great performance but also because he’s something we don’t see a lot in media nowadays; Pure evil and Well written.
Also the scene he realises Zuko is the blue spirit is fantastic

[theskullboy]

Zhao is like that one kid in high school who talks himself up, but is immediately put down if he finds any opposition or reality of his life.

[dojee]

still only a second to Chin the conqueror

[locomotivefaox]

Well he is technically immortal. Got what he wanted in the end.

[bears]

I always thought it was a little odd that nobody remembered him…I mean, I get the poetic justice, but although he was not victorious he still sieged an important capital and nearly conquered it. In our world stuff like that tend to be remembered, we did not forgot general Lee, or general Paulus at Stalingrad just because they ultimately failed...

[spadinnerxylaphone]

He had no redeeming qualities, but I still feel bad for him because the idea of having a goal (in his case, being remembered) and not meeting it at all really stings.

[toxicperson]

It’s honestly surprised that at the very least, Tenzin didn’t know about Zhao. At the very least, I’m sure Aang told the story about he & the ocean spirit saved the water tribe, as well as Yue sacrificing herself to help her tribe as well.

[saberfaber]

Its funny how Zhao wanted to be immortalised in history yet in the greater story of Avatar not much of the fanbase remembers him

[anrick]

I disagree on your point about how Zhao and Zuko should have worked together. It just wouldn’t make sense on Zuko’s part since he’s driven to capture the avatar on his own to restore his honor and be welcomed home. If Zuko were to allow Zhao to do it, yeah sure, that’s good for the fire nation, but he still remains banished. Zhao just wants the glory and notoriety, and capturing the avatar on his own without Zuko’s help would look better in the history books. While they’re both after Aang, their reasons differ greatly and clash against one another. Going by the motivations they had, it made sense from both their perspectives to clash.

[margarethmichelina]

Even Zuko who wanted to help him after getting dragged by Moon Spirit forget about him in the next season. Even Ozai didn't mention Zhao when he gave the tasks to Azula to capture Iroh and Zuko as prisoners. Even Team Avatar completely forget about him in the next 2 seasons!

Poor Zhao, he becomes a forgotten character in Avatar universe.