The following contains spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender, now streaming on NetflixAvatar: The Last Airbender has made numerous changes in adapting the animated epic into a tighter eight-episode live-action drama, with one tweak to Ozai improving upon the original conception of the villainous Fire Lord. Ozai remains a faithful adaptation of the original character in the new series, still filling the same role as the show’s overarching villain. However, adapting a project from a different medium requires some alterations. For some, that’s meant streamlining character motivations and histories.
For Avatar: The Last Airbender, many of those tweaks have been focused on synthesizing the original concepts and characters to save time. Some of the tweaks to the Fire Nation royal family have added new layers to that collection of characters, introducing more complex human motivations to characters like Azula and Ozai who were far more straightforward in the original. The changes to Ozai in particular introduce some interesting new shades to Avatar: The Last Airbender’s big bad.
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How The Last Airbender’s Ozai Compares To The Original
Avatar: The Last Airbender keeps Fire Lord Ozai fairly consistent across its adaptation of the original animated series, but some of the minor tweaks to his humanity play a crucial role in fleshing out the character and his impact on the story. In both the live-action and animated versions, Ozai is The Last Airbender’s chief antagonist. The current leader of the Fire Nation, Ozai has embraced the despotic rule established by his ancestor Fire Lord Sozin and seeks to further the nation’s expansionist inklings to the rest of the globe.
In both mediums, Ozai is a ruthless and ambitious ruler, with a disregard for the lives of others. His massive ego leads him to perceive any critical rebuttals as direct insults and is shown to be harsh enough to scar his son for daring to question one of his generals. However, the animated Ozai is portrayed almost entirely as a monster, with no redeeming qualities. The live-action Ozai is a likewise vicious villain, but Daniel Dae Kim’s performance hints at some semblance of regret and internal strife. This is a small but important change for the character.
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Why The Last Airbender Needed To Change Ozai
The live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender makes a lot of minor changes and tweaks in adapting the animated epic to an eight-episode drama, refining certain elements and characters to reflect the new medium. Ozai being cartoonishly evil worked within the context of the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender, in part because the character was rarely seen in person until the third season. He represented the weight of Aang’s responsibilities, adding anticipation and stakes to their eventual conflict. Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender has put more focus on Ozai’s relationship with his children, necessitating a need to make him more three-dimensional.
In the new show, Ozai is a slightly more conflicted character. His manipulations of Azula are clearer, speaking to his efforts to keep her under his control. He expresses anger when told he’s never suffered sacrifices, implying a genuine emotional loss. His momentary regret over his Agni Kai duel with Zuko that scarred him turns to rage when he realizes it didn’t snuff out Zuko’s soft side, causing him angrily to compare Zuko to his long-missing mother. The result is a character who feels more grounded than mythic, and more emotionally driven than guided by just ambition and self-assured evil.
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Why The Last Airbender’s Ozai Tweak Works So Well
None of these emotional elements subtract from the threatening elements of Ozai. He’s still a deadly and powerful fighter, and shows no compunctions about murdering prisoners. In fact, by adding the implication that he does reflect on his actions, Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adds to the tragedy of the Fire Nation Royal Family. His momentary sympathy for Zuko suggests he does genuinely have feelings for his family, but his rage at being questioned pushes him to lash out with brutal punishments. It also adds a great deal of additional depth to Zuko and Azula’s storylines.
Azula gets to become a more sympathetic character, the product of a warped and transactional mindset. Zuko’s grief over his father’s harsh treatment becomes sadder after Ozai seems to genuinely want to take his son into the darkness with him. Ozai becoming even slightly more conflicted adds to the weight of his horrible actions. Ozai comes across as more than just a villain. He’s a monster by his own choice, making Ozai like other villains like Darth Vader. This shred of humanity makes Ozai all the scarier and more well-rounded as a villain in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Live-Action)
- Cast
- Gordon Cormier , Dallas Liu , Kiawentiio , Ian Ousley , Daniel Dae Kim , Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
- Seasons
- 1
- Franchise(s)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Writers
- Albert Kim , michael dante dimartino , bryan konietzko
- Directors
- Michael Goi , Roseanne Liang , Jabbar Raisani , Jet Wilkinson
- Creator(s)
- Albert Kim
