Zuko’s character arguably underwent the most character development out of any character in the Avatar series thus far. He went from a whiny, teenage brat who narrowly viewed life to a mature young-adult who put others before himself.

Fortunately for just about every Avatar fan, Zuko has been alive and well during the course of The Legend of Korra thus far. He stepped down as Fire Lord and began to travel the world as an unofficial ambassador for peace.

The mere fact that Zuko was kept alive strongly suggests that we’ll see him at some point during The Legend of Korra. Katara was kept alive and we saw her in the first episode. Aang, Sokka and Toph were deceased but Mike and Bryan still managed to show us their adult counterparts in flashback form. Leaving Zuko out would be a major mistake for Mike and Bryan simply because his character was loved so much. But like I have said multiple times, Mike and Bryan are not dumb: they know what they’re doing.

That being said, I fully expect Zuko to make some sort of appearance during Book 2 of The Legend of Korra, and I think I know a potential role that could suit him well.

By the end of The Last Airbender, it was fairly obvious that Uncle Iroh had a profound influence on Zuko. He was one of the main reasons for Zuko’s transition from an antagonist to a protagonist. Uncle Iroh represented the father figure in Zuko’s life, thus Zuko strived to be much like him.

If Zuko does make an appearance in Book 2 of The Legend of Korra, I’d expect his role to be similar to that of Uncle Iroh’s. I’d also expect him to be the mentor for Korra throughout her adventures in Book 2. The reason for this is because Zuko and Korra have both shared similar personalities at one point in their respective lives. They have both been extremely hot-headed and very fierce, at times. As a result, they can relate to each other.

Tenzin may have seemed to be the perfect mentor for Korra in Book 1 of The Legend of Korra, but who’d be a better mentor for Korra than someone she could relate too? Tenzin is the perfect Airbendering teacher because he’s a Master Airbender himself. But Zuko is the perfect Mentor for an Avatar such as Korra because he fought along side Avatar Aang and was exposed to the learning process that Aang underwent to become a fully realized Avatar.

What type of role do you think Zuko will have if he appears in Book 2 of The Legend of Korra?

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Filed under: Opinion, Speculation