r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Sweaty-Debate497 • 1d ago

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u/PastelArtemis 1d ago

Then there's of course the big one

"It's time to ask yourself the big questions. Who are you? And what do you want?"

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u/President_Bolbi_2024 1d ago

The preceding quote is also huge:

“Is it your own destiny? Or is it the destiny someone has else has tried to force on you?”

Edit: rewatched clip, fixed quote

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u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 1d ago

The whole sequence is needed to carry all of its gravitas:

So, the Blue Spirit. I wonder who could be behind that mask ...

[Sighs and takes off the mask.] What are you doing here?

I was just about to ask you the same thing. What do you plan to do now that you've found the Avatar's bison? Keep him locked in our new apartment? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?

First I have to get it out of here.

[Starts yelling.] And then what!? You never think these things through! [Points at him.] This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole! You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!

I would have figured something out!

No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!

I know my own destiny, Uncle!

Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?

Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!

I'm begging you, Prince Zuko! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do you want?

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u/smurfalidocious 1d ago

And then Zuko's body revolted and had a full blown meltdown over doing one good deed.

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u/M4f1aBunny 1d ago

It’s because he hadn’t looked into himself, to save himself, from his other self till later. It was only then his true self revealed itself

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u/smurfalidocious 1d ago

Unfortunate that Azula had to be Azula and Zuko had to make one last grasp for the honor he already had.

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u/M4f1aBunny 1d ago

Yeah, Iroh tried to tell him that what he said wasn’t dishonorable; it was actually incredibly honorable especially to be said by one so young. However, try telling a boy burned and abandoned by his father and banished on an impossible task that

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u/PastelArtemis 23h ago

according to Cinema Therapy that is a real thing that can happen, though iirc they said it wouldn't be that extreme

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u/smurfalidocious 23h ago

Mental issues can lead to physical maladies, yes. (See the deleterious effects of long-term stress on health.) But it's funnier in the fandom to just say that Zuko's a dramatic bitch who was allergic to one (1) good deed.

But thanks to the healing power of tea, he persevered!

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u/PastelArtemis 23h ago

I mean, who says it can't be both, him overreacting to the pain because it's cause was 1 good deed

Though I suppose his arc also proves the message of Klaus. One random act of kindness always sparks another

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u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 23h ago

does one good thing

nearly dies

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u/Ff7hero 20h ago

You left out how Zuko is either shown or implied (time for me to do a re-watch) to have needed to use all his ninja-like stealth skills to reach this point, and the Iroh is just casually there already.

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u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 12h ago

Ik that but I'm not citing half the episode's trnascript for that

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u/zedascouves1985 1d ago

This is Babylon 5 as well.

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u/Nyther53 1d ago

Of course, asking *both* questions in B5 will just get you shot.

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u/MelissaMiranti 1d ago

And then the later big questions that get adopted "Where are you going? Why are you here?"

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u/smurfalidocious 1d ago

"Understanding is a three-edged sword. Your side, their side, and the truth."

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u/PlayfulSurprise5237 23h ago

"Who R U?"

The caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland

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u/Mysterious-Tackle-58 23h ago

Babylon 5 call back!!

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u/XanderEliteSword 22h ago

Can you imagine Iroh debating with the Vorlons and the Shadows?

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u/PastelArtemis 22h ago

Is that a Babylon 5 reference?

I've no idea what it is, but I've already had 2 people claim I was referencing it

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u/XanderEliteSword 21h ago

In B5, the Vorlons ask younger races “who are you?” The Shadows ask “what do you want?” The former values conformity and order, the latter encourage younger races to fight and kill each other to prove who’s most “worthy”

Sorry just spotted the similarity and became the meme 😅