Zaheer: Why kill the Avatar? - video essay [Avatar The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra]
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Firelord Ozai has one redeeming quality: he was voiced by mark hamill
swimmer8585 correct.
He had plenty of practice voicing a madman in Batman: TAS, just had to calm it down a touch and voila, Ozai.
WHAT HE WAS!!!!
swimmer8585 that's amazing
We do not owe Mark Hamill our allegiance, simply because he was born with the potential to create freaking amazing voice-over work. (Go Mark, yay!)
i think the quote "I'm the avatar you gotta deal with it" has a whole new meaning.
yeah everything in this show somehow has a deeper meaning
i never got to watch legend of korra. Where was it?
THE MYSTIC POTATO really omg what’s wrong with u
THE MYSTIC POTATO if u can’t get it just watch others react to it are even buy it on TH-cam
@@XxDAOGJAYYxX eh... not bothered
One thing I love about Zaheer is how after he loses, when Korra goes to him for help as she's fighting Kuvira, he gives it. I doubt he thinks Avatars should exist, and would probably try to kill her again if he could attempt it. But there's no way someone with his philosophy would want Kuvira to have power either. He was pragmatic enough to say "well, I think Avatars are illegitimate, but this Avatar vs. Kuvira will end up with more freedom for people if Kuvira is defeated." And I just like that. He's not so bitter that he refuses to help, or so bent on his one goal that he lets a worse problem go - he'll help Korra because given the choices he has right now, Korra is the best available option.
Exactly!
Yep. As an anarchist that's exactly what I was thinking while watching the show. It's like how America wasn't "the good guy" in WWII (they threw innocent Asian Americans into internment camps) but weren't worth focusing on because there were more fascist fascists to deal with. This is evident in Woody Guthrie's music at the time which glorified America despite his disdain for it's government and private property laws.
Sometimes you have to decide who’s the lesser of two evils, especially if you don’t like either option
Well based on this essay he helps her because of his overall goal. Defeating the avatar may be his main goal but preventing tyrannical oppression is his true goal.
By killing the earth queen, he created the vacuum that allowed Kuvira to come to power, literally and metaphorically.
Just like a vacuum pulling in air, Kuvira was pulled to the rulerless earth kingdom with her own idea of freedom. Perhaps that mistake made him rethink his philosophy a bit.
Maybe in prison, where his body was chained, but his spirit was free, he realized that some things have dichotomy for a reason. Maybe he realized that the idea of ruling your own destiny is counter to his own philosophy as an adopted air nomad.
As a non bender, Zaheer trained like an airbender. He developed a deep understanding of it his whole life. When he suddenly receives the ability to airbend, he masters it in mere seconds. Just goes to show, you don't need to be a bender to understand the concept and application of bending.
Actually, Zaheer was proficient in airbending but not a master. Tenzin’s decisive victory over him demonstrates that
@@largenaq2935 brother he fought him after like 2 or 3 weeks of being an airbender.
And then he learned to fucking fly and took on a disgustingly strong bender.
He maybe was the best bender in the entire world(discarding Korra and I believe Toph but am not sure on that one) purely on skill not like bloodbending availability. And he would have only, just like everyone else, gotten better with time and his insane potential. At the end of the season without a fucking doubt a master
@@lysander4406 the guy I was replying to said he mastered it in mere seconds
@@largenaq2935 you're argument was that Zaheer was no master because he lost against Tenzin(at which point you could absolutely make the case he would be a master, he just barely lost against a real fcking master Jinora would have been absolutely destroyed by him). I agree he was not a master in the cell, just had a really good grasp on it and, even without it, was a really strong fighter. So I disagree with the points made in your argument
@@lysander4406 He did not barely lose, he couldn’t land a single hit on Tenzin. He was totally schooled. I could agree that he became a master when he learned to fly though. Either way, he didn’t master it in mere seconds
I feel like Bolin was more impressed with Zuko's "war hero" status, rather than his position as a ruler.
Same
It wasn't his war hero status, he saw an opportunity to have a life changing field trip with Zuko
@@mbedj1974 HAHAH
@@mbedj1974 that’s rough buddy
@@mbedj1974 I mean, I would want to take a field trip with Zuko too
a tyrannical Avatar sounds like an awesome villain
Id think of a finale as. 2 avatars being in the same time and that in prophecy they will be the last. One is as u say tyranical and the other one , good. Now what will happen is it divides the fire water and earth benders to pick one side. Hahaha so much conflict
That would make a great premise for a third series!
@@yaboybronndsellsword5727 I'd PAY to watch that!
Well this conflict would end kind of quickly because the avatar state is the previous avatar giving their strength and wisdom to the current avatar, which ever was evil wouldn’t be able to enter that state.
@@StarshipMinglePRODSdude remember korra lost all of them, he/she can only talk to korra or avatars after her
I really appreciate one big element about Zaheer himself: He Is truly dedicated to his Anarchist beliefs. He's not just saying those things so he can get others to follow him blindly, He truly DOES believe that the world no longer needs any kind of leader. And when he took down the Earth queen, he didn't use it as an opportunity to get something for himself, he did what the others could not but let them decide what future they'd have Without anyone who'd stand in their way, himself included. And during "Balance" when he learned of an Evil spawned from his actions, he decided to (in his own way) Take responsibility for his actions and help Korra take down said Evil.
He definitely has redeemable and sympathetic qualities. I think IRL anarchists would not advocate exactly what he believes but certainly there are enough parallels to make him somewhat likeable to us anarchists. Not to get political here but I’ll just say this anarchists are radicals and they like anyone can have their faults and for normal people it can be frustrating and even perhaps unapproachable at times, but I do mean it sincerely when I say anarchism to me is artistic and creative in a way that other political philosophies don’t seem to be. My experience has been that anarchists are intelligent and kind and creative and have such amazing visions for what the world could be. I like that about them and having been on the other side of leftist thought anarchism has soul and passion where other ideas have theories and plans. Anarchists won’t tell you to just start a revolution they advocate transforming ourselves too like becoming better people and deconstructing these social networks based on domination. Anarchists are the last people who would say just replace this with that and everything will work out, they advocate very fundamental social and personal changes and think of anarchism as a political structure so much as a process and a lifestyle.
That’s what I like about them. Also as a philosophy that rejects hierarchy and authority they don’t necessarily gain anything personally. Like people can lie and steal and cheat for their preferred system that will make this or that the dominant person or political thought. But with anarchists it seems you can trust that they don’t want power and they simply believe people should be free from the issues that cause oppression and violence.
@@bestwitch2931 To quote the man who taught me about its true meaning: "Anarchy means 'without leaders', not 'without order'. With anarchy comes an age or ordnung, of true order, which is to say voluntary order" I do believe that Zaheer believes in the same principle, he just took it too far. That's why I (at least) think he is such a great antagonist.
Zaheer: "It means that when you base your expectations only on what you see, you blind yourself to the possibilities of a new reality"
That's right, it goes in the square hole!
What do mean other shapes? Aren't they all just squares?
That was so unexpected that I busted out laughing 🤣
And up next, a cylinder. Hmm, I think that goes in...
@@wombat4191 the square hole!
@@talon532**starts breaking down**
Aang never used his avatar title to give him status he actually stated he didn’t like doing that. He even allowed himself to face trial and accepted his conviction of being boiled in oil. Aang did his Avatar Duty as perfectly as he could given he was 100 years late while saving his Nation
(Gets captured by sun warriors) I dont usually play this card, but I'm the Avatar
Well, this doesn't contradict the fact that just like real-life kings are not automatically wise. the Avatar that Aang was just *happened* to be kind, thoughtful, peaceful, and loving. Think of people like Meiji, emperor of Japan, a wise, strong, open-minded, forward-thinking leader who turned Japan into an international powerhouse; just because kings like him existed, that doesn't mean that the next king won't be an absolute tyrannical disaster. In much the same way, "the avatar", although a force of good when in the form of Aang or Korra, is just as likely to be a tyrannical force in some future reincarnation.
@@jacobandrews2663 Yeah, good point.
But the difference is, in this fiction, the avatar's soul is chosen because it is innately pure or something like that.
Unlike leaders with different ideologies, the avatar, though with different personalities, has always tilted towards the side of doing good.
Oh, I'm so going to research Meiji. Thanks for the great info, loved it.
@@rhuonaChanel Yeah they have different personalities but their ideology of the world and philosophies they believe in are the same.
Yeah sure, but notice how in almost every town they went to he was treated differently when they learned he was the Avatar? Aang may not have tried to abuse his power but he definitely did benefit from it which is what Zaheer was against. Aang and Korra rarely had to earn respect it was just handed to them.
Actually, to be quite honest, during my watch of Legend of Korra, I sensed that the Avatar was losing its social importance. You could see that people started not caring if Korra was the Avatar. More technology meant a society with less spirituality. It's parallel to our world. It's like one of the Last Airbender comics where benders are being defeated by modern technology. Bending, in the Avatar universe, is also on a decline.
If there was a sequel to the Avatar series, I could imagine a time where hardly anyone cares about the Avatar. Also, since there would be less spiritual activity due to the rise in technological infrastructure, there would be less bending. Bending is not just a tool of combat. It's a spiritual art in that universe. The next Avatar after Korra would have struggles to deal with civil injustice of non-benders and social revolution, technological advancement of potential weapons of mass destruction, abuse of the spirits, humanity heavily getting involved with the Spirit World like exploiting resources from that realm, a decline in importance of the role of the Avatar, a decline in spirituality and bending, civil wars within nations to create their own countries and demand independence, a massive rise in terrorism, the list goes on. Whatever happens in our world can definitely be a reflection of the Avatar universe.
Korra reconnected the human and spirit worlds..so the world will have to be more spiritual..and by that virtue the avatar being half human half spirit(because they are attatched to Ravaa) will be more nessesary to maintain the balance and represent both sides. Had Korra not opened the portals then yes the avatar would have lost significance but now its a tottally different ball game where techology and spirituality exist in equal parts.
The irs in the avatar world would be pretty cool ngl
They really didn't give a fuck about her 😂
Just imagine being "the great avatar" just to die be getting fucking shot
@@leila8701 😂😂🔥💯
Something that occurred to me while rewatching the series is that Zaheer is practically an Apostle of Guru Laghima. While Guru Laghima was undoubtedly a great and wise Air Nomad, Zaheer’s absolute dedication to his principles reminds me of a quote from Iroh in the Last Airbender.
“It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it become rigid and stale”
Zaheer’s absolutist philosophy is what leads to his downfall.
that is a great point
Yeah, what's also ironic about it, is he let's a great teacher be the one to have power over him in a way by not expanding his wisdom to other influences.
It's insane to me that you think 15 minutes is too long. There are few things I enjoy more than learning about a subject I'm interested in, especially when the person or resource I'm learning from goes into fine details.
You cannot truly learn about, or understand a concept unless you fully understand its nuances. That will always take time, and those of us who enjoy your work will always love the time we spend with it. 😊
I want so badly to see the second Avatar. What he or she went through as a first person born with all four elements.
as an avatar you arent born with all 4 elements but the capability to learn theam
@@joshua2764 i think he means way befpre aang or korra
@@ferhanthefox4688 the one after Avatar Wan
@@Jim-fn4pe the avatar are born with it cause of raava
I know I’m pretty late but I got a theory.
He was normally living his life, as an air bender in this new bending land. He was probably doing something and notices that he bended water, then he tries to see if theirs any historians or Historical texts about “people bending more then one element” and eventually learned about the Avatar, Wan, he learns that it was a spirit that gave him the power of the avatar, so he starts learning about the spiritual stuff, so he decided to continue his spiritual needs and meets Wan who explains everything, probably giving air nomads new methods of meditations and spiritual enlightenment. Oooooor he just lived as a air nomad and eventually met Wan in his meditating. But I believe the first theory is good xD
Aang was born in a world, that needed the Avatar but he did not want to be one. Korra was born in a world that did not need the Avatar, but she does want to be one. I love both shows and I think the struggle in both shows are very interesting.
Saphira Tamaki this should have more likes
The original avatar was better
I mean there is literally nothing that can defeat a bloodbending beast like Amon other than an Avatar.
That's just not even remotely true. The world would have been destroyed numerous times without Korra's intervention.
Yeah but aang was better
Zaheer is not only one of my favourite villains, but favourite characters in all of Story telling. Just that introduction scene alone is phenomenal.
Agreed
I do think that while this may be true, Zaheer was willing to overlook the Avatar's elevated status, seeing as the Red Lotus' original plan was to kidnap her and indoctrinate her into their ways and use her as a tool to achieve their goals as opposed to just wanting to kill her in the first place.
The reason why they wanted to kill the Avatar strikes more as simply the fact that the Avatar being dedicated to keeping balance between the four nations would likely forever oppose the Red Lotus' because of the fact that the Avatar's mission inherently implies that there have to be nations to keep in balance.
Yep pretty much because without government everybody gonna be like avatar and point this guy make against avatar make no sense when you realise again when there is no government or authority everybody has the authority. Same idea when protestant attack pope because now all of them become their own pope as everybody claim they known better and act on it.
Zaheer: Never again will we be oppressed.
Zaheer after creating the conditions for Kuvira to take over: *Shooketh*
And that's why, despite him making some good points, Zaheer's philosophy is unworkable. The way that resources are concentrated mean that institutions are inevitable, so instead of abolishing them and assuming it'll just work out, which leads to tyrants seizing power, the institutions need to be kept accountable but never destroyed completely.
@@eliburry-schnepp6012 The idea that governments shouldn't exist is so fundamentally illogical. Even the water tribes have their chiefs. You know, some system of governance.
@@eliburry-schnepp6012 Do you mind summarizing this in simple language?
@@Kasumi10074 Anarchy doesnt work b/c it leaves nothing to stop tyranny
@@eliburry-schnepp6012 Yep exactly.
You forgot to mention something. The Avatar is not just a regular person with superpowers; They have full access to ALL of the wisdom and knowledge of the past avatars.
And yet, the past avatars could be biased again by their own beliefs when giving advice
@@chroyytheninjaboy9652 BUt morally biased.
but Korra doesn't have that anymore, and this is why I don't like to talk of the season between 1 and 3
The thing he didn't mention that makes the Avatar needed regardless of times of need. It is that the Avatar is the bridge between the spirit and physical world and is charged with maintaining the balance between them. Even if the Avatar is killed, unless it is during the avatar state, then a new avatar will be reborn and thus the cycle will never end. Killing the avatar serves no purpose other than to cause chaos and disrupt the peace between the two worlds.
@@SvviftDeath yeah but they were forcing her into the avatar state before killing her because they knew what they needed to do to truly kill the avatar
I am totally in love with Henry Rollins, and he was perfectly cast as Zaheer. LoK made a _looooot_ of bad decisions, but Zaheer was nothing short of brilliance. Absolutely a fantastic villain!
Henry really was the perfect choice, Zaheer is essentially a punk rock character taken to the extreme.
@@dexenationgracey1979 punk rock is just music about anarchism so less "taken to the extreme" and more just normal punk rock.
What mistakes did LoK make?
@@prod_EYES all of season 2
@@imbomburwhy?
Absolutely loved your analysis.
The villains of Korra’s show where imo, absolutely phenomenal. They all raised thought provoking questions about the current state of affairs and the avatar’s role within them.
- Bedding superiority , vs normal human equality. : Can there be equality if there are people who can and can’t bend?
- the separation of the spirit and human realms: Is it right the avatar has control over both realms?
- Governments and Authority roles: Is it right to rule?
- Adverse effects of getting rid of authority and rule. Is there a balance between complete authority and no authority? What happens when one disappears.
I don’t know why Korra gets a bad rep. Personally for me, it told an amazing story. Thank you for this analysis
I simply would have loved more episodes, Korra to not lose her connections and a much better developed Korrasami. It would be a bonus if Suki and Sokka are shown more. Overall it was a great show.
There's a lot wrong with LoK. Most in terms of how these stories are told rather than the concepts they present.
th-cam.com/video/QhS4a11jZOg/w-d-xo.html @nothing just watch this video and you'll have your answer, hell, you may even learn something :D
If Korra was it's own series, then it would be better than average
But, it's the sequel to ATLAB, which was phenomenal
The villains and the world design were probably the only good things about Korra.
Zaheer: "Nobody should make big, world-altering decisions without being accountable to others!"
Also Zaheer: Tries to end the Avatar cycle without any accountability.
I mean.He had his followers.
Idk if killing her would have been all that world altering except for the people who believed in an inherent necessity for the Avatar and not having an avatar in their back pocket to intervene in conflicts.
@@gabojill19 If you look back, the actions of the past avatars influenced fire nation and its violent rise- and why the fire nation was so hellbent on killing the avatar. In it's own way, it's just the avatar fixing their own mistake and argues against the necessity of the avatar, because it wouldn't have happened in the first place without an avatar.
@@gabojill19 the lack of the avatar was only a problem because while the avatar was gone an evil tyrant was trying to take over the world.
Exactly complains about authority while forcing his authority on to others
Also, from a "tactical" perspective, balance generally is the status quo. The Avatar's purpose is to maintain balance. Maintain the status quo. So killing the Avatar is also very important in being able to achieve his goals.
Balance doesn't mean the status quo. If that were the case Aang would have worked to maintain the fire nation's control on the world since that was the status quo after 100 years. The literal definition of balance is an even distribution of weight, which is what the Avatar tries to gain. They try to come up with situations that are fair to everyone. If anything killing the Avatar is contradictory to Zaheer's goal of creating a fair world where everyone can live free.
@@MrWilson812 no avatar had a real interest in abolishing monarchies, they just accepted as a part of life, not a single time you see any avatar trying to push policies to reduce the poverty in places like the earth kingdom, their definition of balance is status quo.
@@fcoomega7734 but What about the fire Lord? The avatar is about balance which is not always maintaining the status quo. Also the avatars beliefs of What it is balance could always change.
@@liseegeskov8769 they took out the evil firelord and replaced him with a Good Firelord™, surely no other firelord will ever be evil!
The avatar never dismanteled the tools of opression, they only changed who had them. We have to assume that every every monarch, chancelor, and president will be perfectly moral and will choose not to use the arsenal of tools they have at their disposition for their own gain at the detriment of those under them.
@@MrWilson812 Except that's exactly what Aang did, maintain the status quo. Like all the Avatars before him. They did nothing to stop the Fire Nation's conquests before they began. Aangs "solutions" ended up creating more problems down the road. And he did nothing to improve the status of those living in poverty in places like the Earth Kingdom. The Avatars have done more harm than good.
i really think bolin was more impressed that zuko helped save the world and pull it out of a war at such a young age than the fact that he was, by blood, fire nation royalty.
I think either way that still supports Vaheer's ideology. The only reason Bolin knew about Zuko was through the many retellings of the gang's story. While, yeah he's impressed by his feats, those feats are not something he saw himself, and if the story's writer wills it, they could indoctrinate him into believing something.
@@xaf15001 but heroes will always exist in folklore even in anarchist societies.
Man, LoK was such an awesome show! People hate on it because it wasn't quite as good as ATLA, but taken as its own show it's still better than 99% of what's out there.
Agreed it is an awesome show
Its very goofd just kids hating on it
I like how there’s mention of “The wisdom of past avatars” as if it’s completely good and wise. It’s NOT. Avatar Aang made that clear when he didn’t listen, TWICE. Once in the series and in comics. Their time had past and will not always benefit their constantly evolving world.
Of all the hundreds of Avatars who have ever lived, Aang was the only one who was fundamentally good . As the Lion Turtle implied, he was the first human being in at least 10,000 years whose soul was truly incorruptible. Every other Avatar, both Korra and those before Aang, had subjective view of what was "good", causing all of them to fall under Zaheer's definition of "Institutions of Authority".
@@praveenvijeyakumar741
Aang was not fundamentally good.
Praveen Vijay Aang actually did very nearly become corrupted himself when he bended away Ozai’s firebending. The lion turtle never implied that Aang’s soul was incorruptible; even if it did, Aang shares the same soul as literally every other avatar. That’s what it means to be their reincarnation. Aang IS Korra. Aang IS Roku, Kuruk, Kiyoshi, Yangchen, and Wan. They are one soul, one entity, in different mortal bodies.
@@nicodovahkin8822 I used to see it the same way, but now I think that while they do all have Raava inside of them, they also have their own spirits as seen in the Korra season 2 finale
Praveen Vijay it’s not that his soul was incorruptible because he was truly good, it’s that he was so secure in his spirituality and unwilling to let it go even to kill ozai that it made his soul incorruptible
I seriously was upset when Ghazan burned down the northern airtemple
Like cmon
That guy seriously has no respect for cultural heritage
Yeah, you'd think Zaheer wouldn't have allowed such disrespect to a place that inspired much of his belief system.
@@30251 Zaheer is a hypocrite. He goes around killing anyone he wishes because they don't agree with him. The Oppressed always become the Oppressors, no matter how virtuous they think they are. Yes they may have some points you can agree with, but that doesn't mean that their ends justify their means.
@@foolslayer9416 Not really. He only killed people who are a threat to freedom or a threat to his plans.
Airbender philosophy is shown to align with Buddhist ideology in many ways, most particularly about letting go of your earthly tether. Change is the book title/theme of season 3, and impermanence is a Buddhist ideology that everything has to change and nothing will last forever. Korra being cut off from all the previous avatars and how she deals with it in a world that doesnt' need an avatar further represents this. The destruction of the air temple was callous and unneeded, but it made the most sense for the as the airbenders had been essentially extinct for nearly 150 years at its destruction.
Here is something to consider, initially he and his comrades desire to kidnap Korra so as to use her to open the spirit portals and unleash Vaatu, however they also state they wanted to raise her to be a red lotus.
Why end the avatar cycle? He could just kill Korra normally and with no earth kingdom or air nomads the next avatar being an earth bender could have easily been found allowing them to indoctrinate him or her, so why not do that?
Because then they'd be doing the kind of thing they hate?
Yeah, that bugs me too. I understood his point, but that one little phrase throws me off, when he stated that the original goal was to kidnap her and raise her as Red Lotus.
I'm left wandering if his motivations in the show changed when he was imprisoned (something like "Oh well... we will not be able to raise her and so hold her accountable, so the only solution is killing her) or if he was just lying.
That's something I don't think the show never answered
EDIT: Also, the other day I was making up a little 'fan-fiction' in my head... one where Korra dies before she could defeat Kuvira. That would have meant that the next incarnation would have been born in the Earth Empire. Potentially being found and raised by Kuvira herself, fully buying into the Earth Empire propaganda. That would have being interesting, driving even more home the point that Zaheer was making, and this video explained.
@@alphamorion4314 oh can i get a link to that fanfic?
@@doujinloverXD in his head
@@lucassoh4905 I'm saying they should write it, then link.
Another point: The Avatar is described as being vital for keeping balance in the world, so since the Avatars have never overthrown government as a whole, this would imply that Avatars reinforce the existence of governments.
Bo lin wasnt a fan of zuko cuz hes the fire lord but cuz he was part of the previous team avatar!
Then why isn't he hyped when he sees Katara?
@@CayeDaws Katara isn't the avatar.
@@CadenPlays5000 think he meant Korra
@@dripgoku1556 No his point was that Katara was on team avatar
@@Danny01474 bolin didn't grow up in the fire nation hes from ba sing se and was raised by mako in republic city which is former earth kingdom territory as stated by kuvira when she addresses it as a rogue state
0:00 you know he’s been practicing that monologue in his cell for hours
right
I think that's just from Laghima's ideology. Just another one of his teachings.
I've long thought about the saying. I still can't see how it relates back to his overall philosophy.
like thinking about rebuttals in the shower lol
U mean year's 😂😂
the red lotus had SO much potential, and honestly would've been good as a whole series villain arc.
12:59 the ploblem is that very few, if not no one is capable of see what is good for themselves
I also always thought that Zaheer’s quote of “the natural order, is disorder” always stuck with me. The Avatars job is to restore Balance, to maintain order. That is something Zaheer wanted gone.
The flaw in the logic there is that the natural order is good because it is natural. Having a life expectancy of 30 years has been natural for our species for most of its existence, but I would not call that good.
@@morantNO1 I don't think the point here was to appeal to nature
@@PeKaNo Yes, it is. It is right in the name "natural order".
@@morantNO1 no, I think the point is to say that thriving for order is only a matter of what your perception and definition of order means. His point is : "there are different orders".
It ties down with what a lot of anarchist thinkers say about anarchy, it's "order without authority"
@@PeKaNo Which is a respecatble point of view. But @Eli Akselrod quoted Zaheer, who said disorder is the natural order, which heavily implies he thinks it is supposed to be that way and because it is natural. Zaheer thinking along your lines is conjecture. You make a more sound argument, but Zaheer in the show did not, or if he did he should be more precise with what he says.
4:24 In Morocco we call them Iyasha. They will praise and pray for the king even though he oppresses them. It's a slave mentality.
Also called "False consciousness": the act of believing in the perfection of a system that, in fact, oppresses its people.
Stockholm Syndrome
@Spider-Venom you don't have to pick a tyranny to see that.
It happens in every country
Bruh, I was thinking about the Moroccan king at that same moment! I feel like the only one in my family who sees reality. They know deep down that the king is corrupt but they refuse to admit it, and that's when you know the indoctrination worked perfectly.
‘It was not long ago that the airbenders were nearly wiped out because of the Fire Lord’s ambitions for world domination.’
-Zaheer
Meanwhile, Zaheer: “Wipe them out.”
Zaheer is one of my favorite characters simply because of how much his ideology resonated with me. I really connected with his ideas and goals except for killing the avatar, that is where he messed up. The fact that a fictional character can stir up such a discussion is fantastic and something I love to see
i felt the same which also made me question why i agreed with the “villain”, wether or not the show deliberately showed their own side of good or if they tried to show the good side in each villains argument, there are valid reasons for each antagonists world view and it helps you understand the way they think and why they think that way. it also helps me realise the problems in my own ideologies and where i may have grown biases towards certain ideas in the past and how to work on it :)
When he recites that speech, and falls from the cliff, and begins to fly...i thought that was awesome
that happened right after sparky sparky boom lady- who was his lover and the one thing that attached him to the world just like Katara was for Aang- dies. That was when he attained complete freedom. Thats why he could fly just like Guru Laghima
@@gauri4178 NOO WAY I didn’t realize this
@@gauri4178 I just realized this after rewatching it like 15 minutes ago and felt so smart. Funny to see you also noticed that lol it completely went over my head the first time
when mingwa and the lavabender bad guy was on the blimp watching him fly... i thought that was TOP SHELF COMEDY😆
i know they acted cool but im 100% sure deep down they were like "what reality are we in again?"
Imagine being his mom and asking him to eat vegetables.
@Spider-Venom can't u pick a more iconic veggies? Starts with a 'c'
"You are an Institution of authority, hence limiting me in my freedom of choice to eat or not to eat these vegetables, thus you should be abolished" Zaheer takes air away from his mom lulz
well my Brother used to pull out a copy of the US Constitution when our mom told him to do his home work, and i can say that a 10 year old giving a two hour speech about Oppression and Freedom is just as obnoxious as it sounds.
My mom is wise enough to keep vegetables away from me lol
@@syedzaheerhussainshahkazmi1241 Wise mom you got lol
its important to note that the avatar is fused with rava the spirit of light. I see it in a sense that while the avatar is human with genuine flaws, they are guided by pure light and theyre intentions are inherently good. thats the reason why there has never been an "evil" avatar in the cycle, because they not once choose the darkness. each avatar fights for light, even when their choices are flawed and they make human mistakes.
So he defined himself as good?
God. I HATED that addition. Seriously? We talked about the illusion of division in ATLA, and Taoism/Buddhism doesn't adhere to "good evil" dichotomy... so how are we taking "push and pull" aka Yin and Yang, and saying "one is good one is evil". Tone deaf, and one of the writing choices of Korra that make it inferior to Airbender.
there's no good and evil, Raava fights for the balance, Vaatu fights for the Chaos@@wiilov
But there is no spirit of good, Rava is the spirit of light and peace. Light can be interpretated as good but more likely in this series it is about positive outlook and emotions. One can still cause, support, or be evil while maintaining peace and can still be a overly positive and hopeful person.
Quite honestly, Zaheer's goal was the one "villainous" goal in the series that I wholeheartedly agreed with.
I don't agree with some of the things Zaheer and his crew did, but their goal was pretty on-point.
Yeah rape murder and rampant looting+ power vacuums for tyrants and dictators yeah great....
@@kj_heichou yeah. as great as anarchy is on paper humans naturally flock to social order, and someone will be put in charge of the group. Then that group gets bigger and a more important leader chosen, so on and so forth. Ultimately someone will be in charge, you cannot stop that, rather than eliminate the system and leave a power vacuum, you should make sure those in charge are held responsible for their decisions
It comes from a good place, but dude. That does not legitimize him to enforce it by any means possible. That is how you get dystopias like the soviet union.
@@morantNO1 especially ironic with anarchy, similar to communism. To lead a group forcing that change is to inherently go against the idea itself
no it wasnt ... tear down the structure of society and another one takes its place, if anyone believing in this nonsense succeeded and reduced whole world to bunch of small tribes, the result of that would very soon be that few tribes merge together, create new organized society then start conquering the small helpless tribes that "care only about themselves and people they love"
the "anarchy" is the shortest way to the absolute totalitarian dictatorship, because it makes the whole society pathetically vulnerable, if all you are loyal to is yourself and few closest family members, you dont stand a chance against someone who gathers loyalty outside of that extremely narrow circle, be it based on personal charisma, religion, forced authority or simple fear doesnt matter, you would be like a drop of water against a typhoon, easily pushed aside and consumed ...
Korra: Zaheer, anarchism is evil!
Zaheer: From my point of view, all forms of authority are evil!
Korra: Then you are lost!
My man
Aang: its over ozai i have the highground!
Ozai: YOU UNDER ESTIMATE MY POWER!
Aang: Dont try it
*ozai trys to kill aang but aang earth bends ozai and takes away his bending*
Aang: YOU WERE THE FIRE LORD IT WAS SAID YOU WOULD END THE WAR NOT TRY TO WIN IT
Ozai: I HATE YOU!
*sokka’s sword hits ozai in the head knocking him out*
Hello there
General Kenobi
korra at the end of the fight: COME OUT THE VOID YOU DIRTY RAT
I thought being killed in the Avatar state was a secret known only to the Avatar.
Its possible that the lotus society learned of it at some point. Hard to say wherw they got the info.
@@jasonleslie203 No one should ever have this info. No one had ever killed the Avatar in the Avatar state. Then again, some people knew about Raava, which should have been another secret that only an Avatar should have kept to him or herself.
@@gedias1 true. But i offer a very good but rhetorical question: how long can Secrets remain a secret? especially from a sage or priests who set themselves up to serve the avatar. But from the looks of it a lot of avatars have forgotten about raava
@@jasonleslie203 I'm thinking that the Avatars keep some sacred secrets, as it is really of no use to anyone but themselves. Heck, Aang didn't even know until Roku told him. And I'm not sure how any of them knew about Raava, unless that gets passed down from past lives as well.
@@gedias1 most of the avatars didnt know the full story. Seems to me that they dont bother to go back that far from what I've seen.
Aang originally didnt seem to want to be the avatar. But was talked into embracing his destiny & one could argue that his '100 year absence' was fate. Each has their individual flaws.
Love the way you explain all of this. The effort, scripting, notes were worth it. Nice
Love these! Your channel has helped me understand writing and character development in ways I didn’t know before. Thank you.
It's funny, because in the modern world, there really is no need for an Avatar anymore. Hell, no one really respects her as the Avatar, nor do they allow her to do what she sees fit. The first series had figures like Lin and Tarlock crack down on Korra, telling her that the Avatar Status does not allow her to bend the rules as she sees fit. After saving the world from the Dark Avatar, Korra is criticized and blamed by Raiko and the people of Republic City for allowing the Spirit World to remain open, and for the vines covering the city.
So the Avatar isn't this revered figure in the modern world. Most people are just like "Cool, you're the Avatar. Here's a cookie, now move on".
Actually everyone respect and needed her they needed her throughout the entire series especially in season 2
@@keaunceeclifton8044 They needed her to clean up her own mess. If she hadn't been so gullabel and opened the southern portal, Unalaq would have never set Vaato free and fused with him. And in season one a lot of people, including but not just the equalists, do not respect Korra, so you're wrong when you say everyone respects her. She was also responsible for Zaheer getting airbending, but I guess that was a good thing since it meant a lot of other people got it, too. My point is: she does a lot of good AND a lot of bad.
No one respects her? She openly threatened a judge for giving a ruling that she disagreed with in the middle of, what everyone is lead to believe, a normal court trial and no one even bats an eyelash. No one brings that up ever or calls her out on it.
@@atlast7035 she wasn't doing anything bad though. Amon was leading the equalists in republic city before she arrived and only pushed his timetable forward because she came so soon.
Next one was her uncle that showed her a new trick to calm a dark spirit and convinced her that opening the portal would restore balance (avatar's job).
Next was zaheer who came to be a threat because of the clash in season 2 and getting airbending which ended causing her lose connection to rava and the past avatars (still unsure about this plothole since rava was the link between them and she seemed to remember korra perfectly fine after being separated).
Finally, the trauma of the near death experience presented a world in the image of zaheer where there is no avatar to step in if things get out of hand. This gave rise to the kamira who became a dictator bent on dominating using unstoppable weapons.
If there was any fault it would be placed on the white lotus. If the knowledge about the spirits was known to the red lotus, then it very easily should have been know by the white. They locked her up to train with masters excluding her from the world and not letting her develop by traveling to the nations as done previously by all avatars. This deprived her of learning about the world and possibly even an earlier connection to the previous avatars. Something of which would have helped a lot with amon. The deeper connection could have aided her in contacting the first avatar sooner and thwarting her uncle, which would have eliminated both zaheer and kamira as threats later
No... she got more than a few "free cookies" as it were. The first time she shows up in Republic City she commits a multitude of criminal acts... and gets away with it when Tenzin shows up and apologizes on her behalf. "She was naughty, I'll keep an eye on her from now on." Her celebrity status gives her additional benefits. Basically, the more traditional a person/organization's mindset, the more power Korra wielded over them.
Imagine being Zaheer’s parent.
Mom: Zaheer, go empty the trash can.
Zaheer: You cannot control me mother, I owe no one my allegiance but myself!
Edit: Guys, I know the allegiance goes to oneself and one’s chosen loved ones. I was just making a joke, but I do appreciate the entire thread debating taxes, human rights and somehow slavery?
Mother: Well you can live on the streets then.
@@avationmusic what he/she said?
... and those he loves
That's a common joke about most modern anarchist - they're just teenagers who think bedtime and homework is tyranny
@@basedgod6016
No, but paying property taxes is tyranny.
You shouldnt have to pay Taxes to just live. XD
Some pretty deep and interesting points here. It's quite obvious the creators were subtly and also candidly exploring such timeless and important questions facing humanity. I loved that point about Bolin's Grandmother! The way you explained it, it's easier to understand Zaheer and the Red Lotus and maybe even produce sympathy. For me though, the steps he was willing to take to hurt innocent citizens, or in other words, any ends justifying the means relieves me of any sympathy for him. It reminds me of the Bolshevik revolution, in the sense that in creating a "more fair" post monarchy/imperial society was justifiable by any means necessary, even taking innocent human life. Such an age long question, are the ends justifiable to the means if they take/hurt innocent lives? There is no clear answer... In all the avatar cycles, this question seems to be a theme. I love what LOK did with it. Please keep making material, very insightful!
I would love to see an avatar that was a dictator similar to Kuvira or Ozai. They are possessed by the spirit of Order, so it would be interesting to see how one that took the concept of Order too far would be.
You'd think the past avatars would intervene and stop ut unless they didn't care
@@username.exenotfound2943 They can only intervene to a degree, and even then usually under specific circumstances(Avatar Roku was able to briefly take over for Aang during Sozin's comet, but disappeared the moment the comet passed).
Aang has outright stopped Roku and Kyoshi from intervening once before. Though, he's also restored Korra's bending before, so it's likely he could still take it away even though he's dead.
@@shadowphoenix10 roku possessed aang during the winter solstice
@@supercharged5-39 no sir. It was Sozin’s comet. Possibly happened DURING the winter solstice, but that is not the event that led to Roku helping Aang.
@@shadowphoenix10 have you watched the show? the only time we see aang directly possessed by roku is during the winter solstice in the tower on crescent island, and when jeong jeong refuses to teach aang firebending. aang does his own things during sozin's comet when he fights fire lord ozai
The irony of anarchists is that their very idea in itself is a form of authority. Even the Red Lotus itself is some sort of entity, and Zaheer is the leader with authority over his followers.
I mean I don't think that makes them hypocrites or anything, though. To put down the gun, you must pick up the gun.
But they chose to make him leader, that is his whole point. Why obey someone when you did not choose?
But as they attack and disrupt the lives of people under who's authority. They themselves are acting on an authority that was not given to them by the people and are forcing their will on people.
that's wong in a bunch of ways.
Don't say stuff if you don't know for sure, mayne
look up anarchism :)
Zaheer made a decision without anyones consent to remove authority because he thought it was what wast best, how is that so different from people in power making similar decisions? The Avatar is meant to bridge the material world and the spirit world and help to unite the peoples of the world, an Avatar not being necessarily needed in a given generation doesn't mean they weren't immensely important in the past or that they won't be again in the future.
The Avatar reincarnation cycle (fire, air, water, earth) helps balance power over multiple generations, I look at the Avatar like a force of nature, nature is constant change - life, death, adaption, rebirth, nature in physical form.
He views himself as an individual exerting power. Not an institution asserting authority (despite being part of "The Red Lotus.") He wants the world to get to the point it is all individuals exerting their own individual power.
I don't think he is hypocritical with his own philosophy in doing what he wants when he wants. He isn't giving orders to a kingdom of people, he took out their ruler in the hopes they will give orders to themselves.
Wow u should make an essay too
Not to mention, the notion that "nobody knows what is best for someone other than themselves" is...... "moronic..." And the premise that "a man's only allegiance is to himself and those he loves" is equally moronic.
People are indoctrinated into stupid beliefs. The idea of allegiance to governments and authority figures is ludicrous. However, a man's allegiance isn't to himself or those he chooses to love. A man's allegiance is to everyone, because we are all one (reference the swamp).
These pillars that ATLA so carefully constructed are just beaten senseless in LOK with villians that make half reasonable arguments, but then entirely killed by an Avatar with no redeeming qualities to bring the message back. The entire point of the Avatar is to bring balance. S/he is the one who is supposed to learn that we are all one, because there is little hope that the whole world will come to view one another in such a light. S/he is supposed to be the one to live the life and guide one another to see the connection between all of us.
@@tjkim1999 That wasn't Korra's intended arc or how the writers tried to "teach" her. Her arc was how she wanted nothing but to be the Avatar, she had an immense fear of being powerless, and finding her place in a world that doesn't want an Avatar. Every single villain tries to kill the Avatar and her attempts to be the Avatar normally only escalate the situation, then she is forced to live through her worst fear repeatedly in order to be able to temper herself and stay calm. And Korra was specifically written to learn from the villains and have to grapple with the ideals they put out. Aang had the previous Avatars/Roku, the swamp guy, Iroh, that old dude who tried to teach him the Avatar state, the Lion turtle, and others to teach him about the topics you described. Korra wasn't meant to learn from people like that, she was meant to grapple with extremist views of ideals and develop a more balanced view of the world. She wasn't learning to unify people to the extent Aang was but she was still learning to have a more balanced perspective. She went from hot-headed and violent to seeking peaceful solutions and did end up opening the spirit gate to try and bring more balance despite being unsure of herself.
LoK had many issues, S1 was trying to find its stride. S2 undid a lot of fantastic world-building from ATLA and was a bit lost. S3 and S4 were definitely much better with Zaheer being an interesting spin on an Airbender. A bending style originally only belonging to people pacifist by nature utilized by someone without that moral background. And S4 was the world nearly fully adapting to not needing an Avatar the way they used to, Korra finally balanced as a person, working on her own place as Avatar. Korra is not the main issue with her show.
@@haruhirogrimgar6047 What are you on about "Korra is not the main issue"? Okay, actually that's pretty harsh for me to say I suppose. But for god's sake, she was a natural at three elements to begin with, and she was supposed to be a waterbender. But no, she was somehow perfectly happy to bend fire for some reason, the natural opposite. Nothing makes sense in Korra. The entire premise doesn't even make sense. They build a world where non benders are simultaneously oppressing benders and claiming to be oppressed. This could be quite interesting, but rather than actually noticing this irony, the writers are wholly unaware and continue onward. Korra doesn't not want to be the Avatar, she revels in it. What are you on about? But no, she doesn't want to be an Avatar, I suppose. She just wants all the power without all the responsibility. Just look at how she treats learning to airbend. And her inability to have spiritual connections. This is also quite clear in her inability to form believable relationships throughout much of the series. While the animation, music, and effects are all fantastic, and quite a step up from ATLA in many regards, the story is just too incoherent. It's not good enough that it ended okay, if they spent much of the time trying to figure out what the hell they were even writing about or destroying the entire world that they had set up. That's not canon. And to even think that an early AD society that has the power of bending would, in 50 years, develop tech to a 1920s level when there's literally no pressure to do so.... is just stupid. Not to mention, why tf would their tech be even remotely similar in design or innovation to ours?
Idk, it's not a bad show to watch, but it always leaves me with a bad taste in the mouth because of... well I guess the main reason is because it destroys basically everything I liked about Avatar, but I also like worlds to follow the rules that have been constructed. Just like Aang's sudden energybending bothered me, this whole show bothers me. What's the point of using a world if you're not gonna follow the rules set out within that world?
I cannot believe i am this late to your amazing videos!!!! Binging for days AND falling asleep to your playlists. Very helpful!
But the Avatar is naturally wiser, having within them the knowledge of thousands of other avatars all which have lived in different periods of time. Bassiclly avatar knows everything that happened since rava and wan became one to the present day. There is no greater vessel of knowledge than the Avatar.
And the Avatar inherently doesn't have the ability to become bad and or corrupt. Since their soul is one with Raava (the spirit of light and the one who defended the earth from Vatuu for 10k years, stopping him from destroying all life on earth).
I think this is the best rebuttal to why Zaheer was completely wrong about killing the avatar
His philosophy isn't "the avatar can become corrupt" it's "the avatar is corrupt because it allows them to enforce their sense of morality" even if they "cannot become corrupt" they will never know what is in the people's best interests, because they are 1. Not the people and 2. Not voted in by the people
It would be cool to have the ability to talk with past avatars but didn't something happen with that? I remember korra not being able to
They don't need to be corrupt: You can perfectly have an avatar who wholeheartedly believe they are doing the right thing but be mistaken.And they can and have been mistaken
They rarely use said vast amount of knowledge as well: they only access it when in avatar state. Aaang is an avatar who was much more reluctant than the other about using it but even those who didn't particularly fear it werent some kind of super sage at any given time.
More importantly each avatar is their own person, no matter how much they may use the avatar state: They all were given time to develop into their own personality before ever learning they had their powers(Anng and Korra had less time for that but even then they at least had a childhood of being just themselves).And for the most part the current avatar still mostly run the show even when tapping into it.
Doesn't mean how he went about it was necessarily the only way even if you were to agree with him: reducing the social influence of the avatar for example would go a long way toward his ideal without necessarily ressorting to murder.
Not according to Avatar Yang Chen. She told Kyoshi you could ask your past lives for decisive answer and you'll still won't get one, it's why she told Aang he must rely on people around him.
Also don't forget when Korra defeated zaheer later on when he was locked up he finally admitted that trying to kill the avatar was wrong.
He didn't say he admitted it was wrong, he admitted he underestimated Korra's power, and underestimated the consequences of wiping out the Earth Queen, as all he did was create a power vacuum for Kuvira. On top of that he was willing to use Korra as an asset for the Red Lotus' agenda against dictators, as they both wanted to defeat Kuvira.
What episode is that?
@@bahadirtasdemir2236 somewhere in S4
Eh
Zaheer wasnt there to follow through with his plans that's why it failed.
Actual human beings : so we are free huh
Lets kill each other for land and power
And lets make factions with leaders who have the power
Wait we are back to where we have started.... damn it
I mean If you think about, we humans are submissive beings. We like to be dominate, but when it comes to be dominate, we don’t know what to do. That’s why there are so many bad decisions made.
@@roidetesreves2298 we really are garbage
It seems to be a blind spot of Anarchists and other extreme forms of libertarianism. They see the reality and potential for power abuse, not understanding that said power is necessary to protect human rights. In anarchy there will still be murderers, thieves and rapists. We'd revert to might is right, tribal warfare, escalating vengeance fueled violence. Something mitigated by state monopolization of force and unbiased courts. The absence of an organized state does not guarantee our liberties. Thus a form of accountable government is unfortunately necessary.
@Jan Sitkowski I agree that big tech has amassed too much power, likely requiring anti-trust action. They have the power to censor not only citizens, but political representatives. While some raise the alarm about possible election interference by Russia, Twitter and the like are overtly banning controversial political candidates.
Some will claim this is not a violation of the 1st amendment or similar protection in other nations, as private companies are not bound by the Constitution. This seems to ignore the logic that necessitated a Constitution. For most of history only government and religion had the power to silence dissent. So the founders being sensitive to that, insured freedom of expression and separation of church and state. Now a new power has the capability and will to suppress dissent. How is this any less an abuse of power, then if done by state or church?
@Jan Sitkowski I think you're confusing "Libertarians" with "Liberals"; look up the difference. Liberals might be for legalized marijuana for the most part, but many oppose big tobacco. Libertarians are the ones with the "anything goes" attitude.
Incredible analysis, really sheds a new light on Zaheer and Korra 👏
I just found your channel today, and this was the first video I watched. PLEASE make a follow up video with the rest of your notes. I really like how you gave your understanding of the theories presented in the show, and explained it in such a way that it made me appreciate the story more than I did before. To be honest, Legend of Korea was a struggle for me to get into. I didn't like season 1 at all, and had to just skip it so that I could enjoy the characters in the subsequent seasons.Thanks so much for taking the time to explain things in a way that's easy to understand.
Season 3 of TLOK was the best season in the show. You can’t change my mind
3 and 4 are the best, especially on korra's breakdown development
I think it is the best season in the franchise
@@unequaltrex3766 that’s a weird way to say “Season 3 of TLA”
@@kingwaffleton1774 oh my god someone has a different opinion than me, I better tell them they are wrong for liking something a bit more than something else.
@@unequaltrex3766 yeah. That’s what I’m doing. I disagree with your original assertion.
At the end of the series so far, Korra is directly connected to every single world leader in a very close relation one way or another. Even without powers, If Korra existed in our world we would consider her to be the Illuminati.
on the other hand it makes her a great figure to resolve conflict as she has connection to be a bridge between nations
@@Mish844 Also a powerful force that maintains the oppressive leaders in their place for the sake of balance. Neither her, Aang or any Avatar that we know of actually did anything to stop the widespread oppression of regular people which was a constant occurrence in the Avatar world throughout the ages. Zaheer was right and based af
@@mist9798 Quito right
no the illuminati is like a shadow government we would view korra as a danger to society like a walking nuke or something like that
I watched the show then and now, still everyday I get to know something beautiful no matter how flaws this shows were. Such beauty and thought in art is just masterfully crafted. To create conversations that can challenge us everyday in our lifetimes as kids,youth and adults. This is truly a masterpiece. Thanks for letting us know something more👏👏👏
Avatar is still miles better tho.
@@Flome810
Miles Better?
Never heard of ‘em.
@@theoneonyoutube4925 It means “Exceeding greatly”.
@@Flome810
I thought you’d know a joke when you saw one, Sokka.
@@theoneonyoutube4925 I knew that. I just wanted to make sure you knew if you weren’t joking.
okay so i know this is unrelated irrelevant maybe probably but i listen to you talk while drawing and the way you speak has grown on me, i begin to concentrate immediately. and! you've given me so many new insights to ponder over not just from the perspective of these tv shows but in! general! you're amazing keep going!!!
Someone once said that freedom without responsibility is selfish
having both freedom and responsibility means burden is the only thing that will be created from both of it.
Yup - It was Guru Laghima. Ironic.
what a dumb statement
@@DonDadda45 How.
@@DonDadda45 yeah i would love to see a kid getting raoed and the person get away with it! See? Its NOT stupid
No one:
Actually no one:
Zaheer: GURU LAGHIMA
GURU LIGMA
Who is that Guru anyways?
@@theleanbusinessman5431 Guru ligma balls
Zaheer: let go your earthly tether, enter the void, become wind
To be fair Guru Laghima seems to be pretty cool. He walked on air
hes honestly a really good anti-villian imo
This video exposes why I hate the Raava/Vaatu storyline: it makes this discussion so much less compelling. By making the Avatar contain the sprit of all things good, it eliminated the discussion of "why should the Avatar have power?". The answer is, unfortunately, canonically clear: she contains the spirit of good, so whatever she does MUST be good.
sry i am Not fluent, and maybe i cant Fully Express what i mean.
To your comment
Why should the Avatar have Power ?
Well U stated the answer is, whatever she does must be good.
But We Got a good Message in atla that without Bad there is No good and i think the Other way around.
So i Like to think we get to see both Sides. Beeing good and Bad in Korras decisions or believes, even If she thinks everything she does May be good for everyone, it Just cant be good for everyone U never can be good for everyone.
Sry i Hope U can understamd what i mean and that i could voice the thought i Had in the right way.
No, Avatar is partly human so an Avatar can do stupid things that aren't good.... Example The avatar next to Yangchen, i believe his name is Kuruk... He doesn't care about Avatar duties and it tarnished the status of an Avatar as something who does good.
Raava is just a part of an Avatar, Raava mostly controls the usage of 4 elements simultaneously and spiritual bridge but the decision making and personalities is up to the mortal being that Raava possessed
Not necessarily. Raava is a force of order and peace, Vaatu is a force of chaos and conflict. It can be argued, that neither is inherently good or bad, as a desire for order can lead to horrible horrible violations of human rights and natural disasters, like with the funny germans (can't say the name in the comments) and their visions of a clean and orderly world, and the Soviets destroying the Aral Sea in an attempt to foster a prosperous economy and ecosystem.
The flip side, obviously being that chaos and conflict can be good as well. If there was never any chaos, there would be no change. The United States became a thing because we decided we did not want to be ruled under the order of a tyrannical government.
It just so happens that Vaatu was salty about being locked up for 10,000 years, and Unalaq was a bag of dicks.
Think of it from a fan fic perspective. Had Korra died from her wounds before book 4 but not while in the avatar state, the next avatar would have been born an earth bender, and more than likely in the Earth Empire. As they would be subject to the same ideals of the society they are exposed to the most, (the memes) would consequently place social order on a pedestal, and in turn be a "force of order" in universe, while simultaneously being a villan protagonist. Through exposure to other bending arts/Korra as a past life (I personally believe that the past lives are still there, just dormant) they come to realize that peace and order isn't all it's cracked up to be, and frees Vaatu to introduce a little anarchy into the world, creating a dark avatar to truly balance the power of the word, and free the other nations from the Earth Empire.
Yeah, but you're missing the greater point of the story entirely with that takeaway. Light and dark cannot exist without one another, and thus the world was out of balance when the avatar only existed as a force of good.
With Vaatu's destruction, the new Avatar will become a more balanced individual. Bryke confirmed that Vaatu will regenerate from within Raava, but that it's an eventually that an Avatar down the line will have to deal with.
Season 2 tells a story of the Avatar as a force of pure good being destroyed, along with the legacy and memory of that heroism being symbolically erased. In its place will come a new cycle of Avatars that are neither all light nor dark, but instead balanced.
It's actually a very, very incredible bit of world building and storytelling that could pay off big time as the Avatar world continues.
The self-defeating aspect of this brand of anarchist philosophy is that the lack of authority and oversight, by its nature, presents a strong potential of the loss of individual freedoms. The loss of freedom simply comes in the form of other individuals taking, for the sake of themselves and/or those they care for, freedoms from someone else. The entire purpose of authority and oversight is to moderate the population so that such struggles are limited (as often as possible) to negotiations and agreeements rather than damaging conflicts. It doesn't always work, but the argument for government is that it would be worse without it.
Case in point, as far as the story of Avatar goes: Fire Lord Ozai. Avatar Roku may have allowed Ozai to rise up through his decision not to kill Ozai, but through both this and Aang's absence during the Hundred-Year War, we see the potential large-scale danger of a world without the Avatar. Their decisions might have had flaws, but a consistent theme in Last Airbender is that the Avatar's most dangerous decision, the decision most prone to disaster, is inaction.
Legend of Korra is interesting in this respect because it underlines this in the third and fourth seasons by having an antagonist who sees the Avatar's action as a danger, followed immediately by a time-skip through a long period of inaction from the Avatar because of that antagonist's interference. Season Four shows the result of this, with the Earth Kingdom being taken over by a dictator who is directly acting because the absence of the Avatar left her country vulnerable. Though Zaheer believes strongly in a philosophy that he thinks will lead to peace and freedom, the real world ends up being messier than that; it's poetic, therefore, that Zaheer ultimately helps Korra overcome the trauma that he inflicted and re-assume her role of basically moderating the moderators of the world--cleaning up a mess that he indirectly caused, in other words.
The question of "who will watch the Watchmen" is answered, essentially, in the Avatar. A power passed on in sequence through all four of the nations, reincarnated into whatever gender it damn well pleases, which the world's leaders need to be wary of. The fact that it always is just "someone else" is also in its way a check and a balance on that authority. The alternating nationality makes sure the Avatar will not be beholden to one nation for an extended time; the alternating gender, to no single concept of what human strength and authority means; the alternating personalities and biases, to no single world view; the chain of reincarnation and the ability to get in touch with past Avatar spirits, to no single Avatar's limited life experience.
It's not perfect, but it's a damn sight better than the Red Lotus gave it credit for.
- Lewis
Yes.
yup. thats why antifa are morons too.
@Lightskinlove by real world you likely mean world outside of western world. I don't really know what was the point of your comment.
But if you consider western world prison with its authorities, then the world outside of western world is isolation chamber for you.
E X A C T L Y
Wanna see an anarchist society. Go and live alone since where are there people there are laws.
I think one thing that really flies in the face of this anti-Avatar ideology is the spirit of Raava. It's hard to make the argument that the Avatar is an unstoppable tyrant waiting to happen when they literally have the living embodiment of good inside of them. Sure, the Avatar's ideas of good may have differed slightly, but the fact that not a single one ever went rogue and started doing things antithetical to the purpose of restoring and maintaining balance in the world has to count for something.
uhlan30 I thought its not about good and evil but about freedom? Regardless of intentions, even a "good" leader will quickly become an oppressing asshole once he realizes that he can get away with just about anything.
And yet, what causes Raava to be good? Is it that there is some inherent idea of Good out there, a la Plato's theory of Forms, that one might aspire to? I'd l;ike to make a counter-argument for the subjectivity of morals here, and how it applies to your argument:
Imagine a world. Maybe one like ours, maybe one completely different. Whatever the case, this world has an objective Good and an objective Evil. Both being immaterial concepts. Now, what I have described here does not actually detail the nature of these concepts of Good and Evil. For example, the concept of Good here might be the act of torture - torturing as many people for as long as possible. Perhaps the concept of Evil could correspond to the act of handing out food to the poor, or clothing and watering the homeless. Maybe it's just eating bacon. Now, there are people on this world, and they're both sentient and sapient. These people have this thing called 'philosophy', and they've been doing it since this guy Setarcos. They've formed this moral philosophy that they've simplified into what we know as the Golden Rule. The question becomes this: are they good in not torturing others? Because if there is an objective moral Good outside of one's subjective experience, then they clearly must be morally incorrect. In this case, the people on the planet have what seems to them a privileged viewpoint into the nature of the concept of Good and Goodness. Yet, as is shown by the previous possible definitions of Good and Bad, it is shown that they are, in a sense, wrong, if you look at it from the perspective of the aforementioned definitions of Good and Evil in this world.
So I ask you, again, but more clearly: What makes Raava good, other than the people calling Raava to be the embodiment and very concept of Good themselves?
Raava embodies light and order. Good is an attribute you have ascribed to her.
@@Anna-tl6oz Ravaa is basically a conceptual entity. I think that Ravaa didn't ordinarily care about mortal affairs before they met Avatar Won, so that would be a non issue anyways. That aside, as the embodiment of good, regardless of the relativity involved in that, they would surely stray from doing any action that would be blatantly considered "bad". That's not to say that the Avatar can't make mistakes, but they wouldn't go down the path of the Earth Queen, for instance.
Peoples perception of 'good' is different. Just like how past avatars all told Aang that they would do whatever had to be done to bring peace and balance to the world. Aang didn't want to kill, but past Avatars told him it was necessary, showing that not all Avatars will have the same beliefs. Though the goal was the same, the methods were different. What's stopping 1 Avatar from having the same ideals as someone like Zaheer. What if a future Avatar thought the only way to achieve peace and balance, was through the dismantling of Institutes of Authoirity and Governments altogether. Just because it hasn't happened before doesn't mean it won't happen in the future.
I think it'd be a pretty compelling story. Imagine an Avatar that believed that everything bad currently happening in the world is due to the Avatars existence. That'd be a pretty insane story.
Hey - your other videos on ATLA actually prompted me to rewatch the entire series, but I have not gone back to Korra since it first came out.
You are making me want to dive into Korra now.
I love all the avatar shows. I watch them continuously and would love more content like this on your channel. I think you did an awesome job.
The problem with Zaheer's philosophy is that he's ignorant of the past. He doesn't even know why the spirit world was separated from the physical world.
Before the Avatar, humans couldn't even go out into the world because they were tormented by spirits.
The Avatar is the only person in the world with the power to defend humans from the threat of malevolent spirits.
That's a fair argument.
Although by closing off the Spirit World, the chances that anyone would WANder in (I slay myself) and release Vaatu shriveled dramatically.
To be clear, I'm not saying you're wrong. I do agree that what Wan did was a mistake. There were other ways to lessen the dangers spirits posed to humans (and vice-versa), perhaps the chiefest among them being to teach mutual respect.
(With the already widely respected Raava backing him and Vaatu locked away, I don't imagine it would have been that difficult.)
My point is that in closing the portals, Wan did what he thought was right at the time. To do that, and hope it works out, is all any of us really can do.
Thats like you would say that the humans in our world have to be protected from the aggressive nature, which is wrong too. Nature and Spirits have been on the planet before humans, then the humans came and took them their freedom. It should be nature/spirits that are protected from the humans
You're not wrong. I never said that spirits didn't need protection from humans. Both parties are dangerous to each other. Also keep in mind that Wan was brought up in a city where everyone was taught that spirits were dangerous and murderous. Maybe HE outgrew that mentality, but many humans were still afraid of spirits, and vice-versa. Both parties wanted to feel safe from the other, and a good way to make that happen is to teach mutual respect.
KingOfMadCows That is not the only problem with his argument. It is beautiful that he wants this total freedom but human societies do not work like this. We need some kind of order to be able to coexist. And according to my opinion no human institution is fairer than another...it all depends on your socialization. Thinking that one is superior to another is called cultural racism... (and / or positivism and this ideology has arguments that anyone would find dangerous in the 21th century)
Also what would he install instead of the fallen institution? Another, fairer one? According to whom, HIM? He has the same limitations as any other humans...his order would turn into tyranny as well...this is an argument that has no point or end....
Vorname Nachname Humans are apart of nature dumbass
So foolish to keep the humans and spirits separated. Look how happy everyone was during Wans time! Humans hid on their sanctuary cities, spirits hated and killed humans when they saw em and could just enter their bodies without struggle, horrifyingly mutating them in the process. What a great time that was!
@Frenzied Unicorn Productions am not.
We don't the true worth of something untill we lose it. After humans lost spirits and spirits lost humans, they understood how to live together. After harmonic convergence, we can see that there was no force to corrupt the spirits. They tried to live together and the actual challenge was only presented by Vines but I am sure people learnt to live with it.
Plus, during wan, people didn't use water bending to release a spirit from a body which Unalaq taught Korra. I am sure
Bumy and dragon fly bunny
Also what zaheer unable to see was, avatar is meant to held vaatu at bay. Sure, giving a ten thousand incarnation of avatar seems pretty long and unnecessary, but it is supposed for raava to not lost contact with human, keep in touch with human and giving the later avatar that would facing against vaatu more knowledge through the previous avatar. Sure, merging with human does not guarantee her victory, but at the very least, she had more chance to protect human from a ten thousand year of darkness and chaos
@@ThePinkRubber So Zaheer's gang didnt know about Raava and Vaatu despite of having so many knowledge about Avatar? And Korra previous battle?
There are so many things to analyze in this video! Very well done 👏
4:45 I have always felt like a big flaw of Zaheer was he was never interested in responsibility. He didn’t want to think what would happen in the earth kingdom after his coup. He just hit and ran. The earth kingdom fell so far in to disparity because he only wanted to think about himself. Not what he might owe to others. Now I’m certainly not a Lawful aligned individual. But the question of “What do we owe each other?” Is rather important in my mind to have it set as a moral compass. Because I’m not responsible for just myself. I care deeply for my independence, self expression, and I don’t work well with a lot of rules. But I also care for others. And recognize a responsibility as a functional adult. Zaheer just didn’t want to be told what to do. It’s the difference of being chaotic good and chaotic evil.
It's so nice to read a video essay of Korra from someone who actually knows how to interpret messages and themes.
If Amon wasn’t a liar, he would have the best villain in legend of Korra. But in the end, Zaheer was more coherent.
why is he a liar?
@@Psy_Ro He was a waterbender
@@Andreych95
Oh yeah
Now I remember that he lied about bending
Well. He onky got there because of it. For me that wasnt a problem in his philosophie.
For me Amon's hypocrisy was interesting, especially since he genuinely believed the stuff he was saying about bending being nothing but a source of problems.
For me, the thing that would've improved the Equalists would've been if LoK had bothered to show that there actually was societal inequality between benders and non-benders. LoK spent season 1 just telling us that there's a problem and expecting us to buy it. But the whole point of a well-intentioned extremist villain like Amon is that they're right about the problem and wrong about the solution.
zaheer was full of crap. look at what the completely predictable outcome of his actions were. Kovira. she filled the power vacuum and ironcially was only stopped by the avatar. so if zaheer had succeeded in killing the avatar permanantly the world would have been enslaved even moreso then under the fire kingdom perhaps permanently.
I apperciate the effort you put into your videos.
The guy in that final season missed the part where every Avatar is supposed to spend decades learning the aspects of each of the four nations and their cultures, along with mastering their element of bending. They would even master communication with spirits in the spirit world. This would make them the perfect leader. Constantly being able to access the knowledge of every past avatar. In Korra’s time, coupling a society that pushes further from the spirit world with an under trained and under informed avatar brought about support from some who believed that the avatar must be destroyed. Probably the best part of the series as it wasn’t very great as a whole in my opinion
Love this. Philosophically talking about this stuff is something people dont do enough
Your standards are too low. This guy has a terrible grasp whereof he speaks, and someone trying to develop their mind watching this stuff is not going to realize how off course they are right away and will instead come to a shock later that will result in a long, arduous process of self-correction. Your wish for philosophical reflection is a good impetus, but find a deeper, cleaner pool to drink from. This guy is letting you down.
It's hard to have those discussions, some people can get so fired up and offended if you don't share their point of view or beliefs, leading to insults, threats and violence.
xandercorp nope
Amon- Egalitarianism-> Communism
Unalaq- Theocracy -> Cultism
Zaheer- Libertarian -> Anarchism
Kuvira- Ethnonationalism-> Fascism
More specifically, Zaheer serves as a radical counterpart to Korra, who also leans to a libertarian view (she even basically says "taxation is theft" at some point).
Sadly if only they had showed the dangers and threats of Capitalism and how many forms of it can and do fail the better part of the world, just like these other types....THEN this would have been a complete series IMO despite Korra being such a terrible Avatar.
@@TahtahmesDiary one's own world views are terrible criteria to determine if a work of fiction is good or bad, frankly.
@Victor someone what does this have to do with my comment?
@@TahtahmesDiary Korra was one of the best avatars that we've seen so far, if not THE BEST. A terrible avatar, since you have no idea what one looks or acts like, is like roku or kuruk.
i never thought too much about Zaheer's motivations... it really makes sense though, even though *this* avatar is generally a moral character, who's to say a future avatar wouldn't be raised in an environment where they're not a moral person and act in corrupt ways?
Apparently Raava prevents that from happening
man what is your accent? it’s lovely
This is the best video about Zaheer’s philosophy.
He is one of my favorite antagonists ever
accent is new zealand I think
DUDE THIS VIDEO ESSAY IS FLIPPING AMAZING!
This is by far your best video yet. Keep doing these, you can clearly see all the work you put into this.
I've wanted to do this video for a long time, so I'm so so happy with how it turned out. Makes me so happy you liked it!
~ Tim
Zahir's ideology mirrors my own what you've done here is absolutely beautiful
oh my god i just had a super big realization from watching this and now im really sad.
This whole thing about the avatar being an unlicensed authority figure could have been integrated into the show so well with korra and everyone questioning if being the avatar was a good thing at all. I know they do this somewhat in the show but it has so much potential to be more. if the writer had the chance to organize the series better with proper build up it could have been made the series so much wonderful. just imagine it at season 4 after fighting unavaatu korra changes the role of the avatar completely or something like that taking all of her lessons she learned from fighting zaheer, amon and kuvira. It would have made the show more meaningful. but of course nickelodeon being the "wise business people" they are put the producers of LOK in a really tight spot im furious!!!!!!!!
This gave me a new appreciation for the Legend of Korra
S03 of LoK is the strongest of the series. I fucking love it
I think it’s awesome that Henry Rollins was the voice actor for Zaheer. IMO it was perfectly cast !
I love his quote about “freedom on a whim”
It’s amazing when you think about the cause and effect of the story.
Unalaq left the Red Lotus or it got disbanded because they were all but beaten. His philosophy almost mirrored Zaheer’s in that he wanted to remove the Avatar, reunite the Spirit World with the Physical World, and yeah, usher in 10,000 years of darkness and chaos.
His actions literally empowered Zaheer who wanted to remove all institutions of government, remove the Avatar, and have all of the world fall into anarchy and chaos.
What’s funny is that it wouldn’t have stuck. People love to be shepherded and told what to do.
Zaheer would have constantly had to quell (kill) any man or woman who rose up to bring order to all the chaos…Enter Kuvira.
Had Unalaq succeeded he would have still empowered Zaheer (opening the portals to the Spirit World). Zaheer would have wanted to remove the Dark Avatar and topple all institutions of government. Resulting in the downfall of the Earth Queen and the radicalization of Kuvira. If Zaheer managed to kill the Dark Avatar he would still have to confront and kill Kuvira, and an endless amount of would-be tyrants, leaders, and unifiers. He would never rest. That statement of being accountable to yourself and those you love wouldn’t apply to him or the Red Lotus. The irony is that this burden could have grounded him. The same the Avatar is bound to the world, he would in turn be bound to the idea of anarchy. Anarchy is an idea that can only be established and perpetuated by an authoritarian institution…the Red Lotus.
Although the avatar is selected through no particular authority, they do have one unique edge that enables them to be a better leader than just a typical monarch, and that is access to their past lives (though that did get changed in Korra). I'd say that's a fair point to consider
This was such a beautiful Video Essay Future Me for me Zaheer is a very complex villain and has quite the complex Philosophy (which I love btw) and he is in my opinion one of the most greatest Villains in the Avatar world and thanks for perfectly explaining Zaheers Philosophy to all of us anyway loved this video can't wait for the next one!!!! (and LOTR for me) :)
I was so worried about the response to this video. I'd wrote the script three weeks ago and had worked on it since then to perfect it. The response from all of you just absolutely made my day. I woke up the following morning with the biggest smile on my face :) The subfury community is too good to me. I'm so happy you liked it, and I definitely will do another with a response like this. Thanks for watching!
~ Tim
Hello Future Me Your welcome and I'm glad my response put a simile on your face this Video Essay truly is so perfect you and your community is truly so awesome and great and I'm very honored to be a part of it and I really can't wait for the next Video Essay!!!!!!!! (P.S. Sorry for late reply was busy training Rey in The Last Jedi Lol :) )
Zaheer > Azula
Alex Majin Quite a few are > actually.
Anyone else completely agree with Zaheer's philosophy? The dude had a great point, but as usual the Hero just responds with violence in order to maintain the status quo.
The mistakes of Zaheer out of my perspective (I am anarchist)
1. Opposing all order. Anarchism is usually seen as the highest Form of order, just not a hierarchical one.
2. Not building secondary power structures. If he had organized the people of the earth kingdom before killing the queen it might have worked out also without kuvira rising. He could have organized horizontal structures and those would have been in place as soon as the vertical ones were removed. But of course he opposes all organisation, which is his mistake no1
3. Not ending the power structures in the distribution of basic needs first. Imagine the red lotus had concentrated on getting food and shelter for the people first. He would have removed the landlords first before the earth queen. Then he makes a need addressing mode of distribution and if the earth queen and her military try to stop that then take them out. People wouldn't have to resort to crime in order to obtain food and there would have been a basis for people to organize all else on because no one would have to concentrate on not starving.
That sounds awfully Marxist of you to propose such socialist policies. Landlords and masters are by capitalistic principles the epicenter of society to remove them is to remove the hierarchy that their wealth and privilege provides. You would be arguing for an end to the basic private capital and the ability of the landlord to lord over his or her tenants and to subject their tenants to their will.
@@jalicea1650 exactly. That's kind of the point. 90% of anarchist theory is socialist
@@alexsch2514 sub school and depending on the anarchist they can also be Marxists, but there are anarcho-capitalists reactionaries who also preach similar anarchist ideals, but they fall into quasi-libertarian school of destroy it all and let the free market decide who lives and who dies i.e Ayn Rand.
@@jalicea1650 most anarchists don't even consider ancaps to be anarchist. Anarchism means diminishing hierarchy, capitalism is inherently hierarchical therefore, everyone who truly considers himself an anarchist ought to be anti capitalism
@@jalicea1650 ancaps omegalol
Stumbled across this in my recommendations and really enjoyed it!
I never liked Kora as a kid, because I came off of Avatar, and couldn’t really comprehend season one, so I am glad that people like you help me learn what I missed.
I mean he stole my name, pretty villainous to me
Zaheer Sooliman ehhhhh my Pakistani friend?
Your actual name is Zaheer? Have you let go of your earthly teather yet?
It's unfortunate that Zaheer doesn't realize that by him choosing for us that authority must be toppled he has himself become an authority. I have the right to live under a leader should I choose to. He does not have the right to make that choice for me.
This is an ironic problem with all anarchic philosophies though.
ZetterStudios execpt you have always lived under a government that ruled over people. You were born in such a system thus you wouldn’t know how it feels to live otherwise. So your choice to like living under a government isn’t one made by knowing how it feels to live in the alternative scenarios.
thats not the point @the GOAT -IsHere , the point is, you can always choose to live without any government, but why would you if your life is better under said government ? if he chooses to chose for you what leader with their world view you should follow, he creates himself a paradox
and once you replace an old system with a completely none existend one, humans will do the same stuff again, following a leader, the greater the group the more authoritarian system are going to be introduced into the group... so the cycle starts again no matter
the path to he'll is led with good intentions
the GOAT -IsHere• to add on to what u said. Which i fully agree. To paraphrase it, what zalheer is attempting to give is true freedom, gain from freedom in our knowledge and awareness. What he is essentially trying to give is the choice to stay ignorant and serve or "enlightened" and free.
But you can't choose to live without government, I could take myself off into the woods and live self sufficiently, but as far as my government cares I'm their citizen and I owe them for my right to live here. You can't go where you want or live how you want, unless your choice is to live outside of a governments notice. But what if you want to see another part of the world? Well you need to have a passport from your government, permission from the government of wherever you want to visit, and ya gotta pay for the privelage. See? It's impossible!
Also Zaheer isn't choosing a leader for you. If you want to follow someone different then that's up to you, but he's going to take off your blindfold first and let you see that you really didn't need them in the first place.
I really enjoy your video essays this one was really well constructed and it made me really understand more in depth Zaheer’s point in killing the Avatar. Not that I’d say I agree because I believe society needs order in order to function and even that gets messy so I can’t even imagine an anarchist society.
Listening to this Channel videos about this franchise reinforces the point that a mark of a great franchise is that in hindsight it still is praised
Zaheer's whole philosophy is basically "Who watches the Watchmen?" and, based on this video, I can't help but understand his point...
isn't that the whole point though? Being able to sympathize with zaheer made him the best avatar villain to date (my opinion), and it made seeing him in chains that much more of a statement when it was all over. He WAS right, in a sense, just like all the other villains of korra. He just wanted too much freedom, to the point of insanity.
Oh, absolutely! There's something so much more...enthralling about a villain who isn't really a villain. If you end up feeling that they lost, rather than the hero won, then it makes the battle that extra bit interesting; it's not just the trope of good/bad, it's a much more realistic (within reason) depiction of what happens with two opposing ideals!
+Pat Johnson -- In my opinion, Zaheer's philosophy was full of hypocritical nonsense. One of the basic problems of philosophy is what makes an action morally right or wrong. Is it the _intent_ behind our actions or the _outcomes_ caused by our actions?
For example, say you try to throw a life preserver to a drowning child and instead hit him in the head so hard he gets knocked unconscious and drowns. Was this the right thing to? Or was it involuntary manslaughter? Can it be both? Would it have been better to just stand there and let the kid drown?
The fact is that nobody can completely control the outcome of any situation. Nor can society allow pyromaniacs to go around making fires "better" instead of putting them out. This is a problem that cannot be solved by some simple dialectic flourishes.
In fact, Zaheer's philosophy falls apart almost instantly. How can a man's loyalty to those he loves be moral, yet love of one's country be immoral? As isn't "worship" one of the synonyms for "love"? Under Zaheer's own philosophy, he has no more right to stand in judgement over the Avatar's actions than the Avatar should have over anyone else.
Seriously, who died and made him... oh.
Grizabeebles I agree I think he was quite obvious to the audience in terms of hypocrisy which is why he’s a villain. But, he’s written very well and it’s really easy to empathize with his world view even though we know he’s wrong which makes him a great villain. (IMO obviously)
+Max Klein -- I'll be honest. Out of all the characters in Avatar, the only ones I'd want to sit down and drink tea with are Iron and Zaheer. All of the characters (even Sokka and Bumi and Bolin) are wonderfully developed and have clear motivations. But to me, only Iroh and Zehir have complex and subtle reasoning behind the bulk of their decisions. For instance, I'd love to spend an hour talking with the two of them about what "love" is.
please do more for legend of Korra, there is just so much of this world that i don't understand. not because they did a bad job, but because they wanted to leave lasting impressions on their viewers and leave them with questions and find the answers to. i would love it if you did more of these.
Great topic and video!
This is a really good video that summarizes Zaheer's ideology unbiased. Thanks for reminding me why Zaheer is the best Avatar villain.