I took notes again...here goes...
Iroh's and Azula's relationship...it wasn't the warmest and fuzziest, to be sure.
So goddang what? It's ok for her to kill him? It's justified? Just because she doesn't respect him?
I UNDERSTAND that she didn't like Iroh, I UNDERSTAND that she was brought up to hate the Avatar, but IT DOES NOT MATTER. It does not excuse anything. It EXPLAINS, but it does not justify diddly squat.
Zuko was brought up in the EXACT SAME circumstances. Azula didn't much get along with her uncle? Well Zuko's own father burned half his friggin face off.
It does not matter AT ALL what Azula's relationship with Iroh was, he did not do anything to her to justify that kind of an attack.
What about Zhao? He tried to KILL Zuko. He admitted as much! He and Zuko HATED each other! And Zuko tried to save his life! The ocean spirit killed Zhao, but, had Zhao accepted Zuko's offered hand...
Zhao could have lived. Do you see what I mean? Zuko had three times as much reason to let Zhao die, but he did not. He has redeemable qualities.
Not having respect for a person, hell even hating their guts, DOES NOT JUSTIFY MURDER. I am sure you could not possibly think that it does, no sane human being could.
What does justify killing a human being? Defense of life. If a person is about to commit unprovoked violence and murder on an innocent, it could be argued that they have given up their respect for life, and therefore their right to live. This is why defending your own life or the life of another is a justifiable excuse for murder.
Hatred is not an excuse. Disrespect is not an excuse. Ego is not an excuse. Social upbringing, I believe, is not an excuse. By my philosophy, there are several things that all human beings deserve as a natural right. Life, security, safety...these are all natural rights that all human beings deserve and should recieve by their government.
If a culture eats bugs, has 15 wives and worships pigs, that, my friend, is just a cultural difference. If they actively teach violence and brutality and encourage murder, then, yes, I would say that there is a problem. You might demand, "How can you claim that their culture is wrong?" but I do claim...they are violating natural human rights. There are cultures alive today that practice female genetal mutilation...it's their culture. Are we supposed to pass this off as a cultural difference? Or are we, as people who respect the human life, supposed to commit to action that would cease these horrors?
So Azula was born in the propaganda-machine that is the Fire Nation. So she was told that killing the Avatar is A-Ok.
So. What.
In the context of a story, that excuses very little. It excuses Zuko's continued antagonism against Aang, because, yes, the Avatar is an enemy of the sate. And it would excuse Zuko or anyone else killing Aang to some extent. But, if after killing this 12-year-old child, Zuko was THRILLED or happy and completely without remorse, then all hope of excuses his actions and passing him off as a salvageable human being have been tossed out the window.
Because that's what's CRUCIAL about Azula's attack on Aang. She is convinced she killed Aang. She shows NO remorse for committing murder. None at all. She took PLEASURE in it. This is inexcusable in a narrative.
Of course good guys can kill. Why? They do it as a last resort. They regret it. They take no pleasure in it. It HURTS them to do it. Because they are decent human beings, capable of empathy.
So, the acti itself may be explainable. Azula was fighting an enemy of the state. And, even though she was ORDERED by the Fire Lord to bring in the Avatar ALIVE, she tries to kill him. And she RELISHES in it. She shows no remorse. No matter the circumstances, any healthy human being should not feel happy about committing murder. If a man raped and killed my entire family, would I take it upon myself to hunt him down and shoot him in the head? And after doing so, would I be HAPPY? Would I be pleased with myself? No. And I think it would be horrendous and monsterous if I did.
Plenty of people where happy to see someone like Saddam Hussein go. Mass murderer, tyrant, etc. Very few Americans felt remorse at his death. But, had you asked one of them to place a gun against the man's head and pull the trigger, I doubt many people would leap to the task. Some might though. And, if after shooting a man in the head, they were pleased with themselves, and had no regret or remorse in the action, then yeah, I would say that person has some problems. Had the person pulled the trigger with a grim face and silently tossed the gun down, thinking "It had to be done," then that is explainable.
This kind of intent tells a lot about the person.
Which is why your claim that, since Azula hasn't successfully murdered anyone, she's not a bad person, is completely false. It says NOTHING about her personal character! It just says the heroes are resiliant!
Hell, I would say Long Feng, the single and only character to have committed open murder on this show, has more redeeming qualities than Azula. Why?
Long Feng reacted ENTIRELY in defense. And not that middled, backwards, indirect "The Avatar's gonna kill his country" defense. Jet clearly tried to kill Long Feng first. He threw a razor-shart sword at the man...he wasn't trying to tickle him.
Exibit A:
And Long Feng's reaction was reflexive. He dodged and struck with a knee-jerk reaction.
And what did he do afterwards? Did he gloat? Did he laugh? Did he, in any way at all, appear pleased with himself for taking a human life? No. He was grim, and even a little regretful.
Exibit B:
He said, "Foolish boy. You've chosen your own demise."
That is Long Feng convincing himself that he did what was neccesary...that it was Jet's fault. And, yeah...it kinda was. Jet tried to murder him first. And not the crazy bending "hit-you-with-a-rock" that someone like Aang does...which, have proven, to be very unleathal. Jet tried to stab Long Feng right in the heart.
Exibit C:
So Long Feng convinces himself that he had no choice, VERY different from Azula's gleeful "Yay me, I killed a kid!" expression.
And, no, I am in no way saying Long Feng is in any way a good person, or that he will be redeemed. I am pointing out that a man who brainwashes people, uses scare tactics on his citizens, and kidnaps Appa has twice as much respect for the human life as Azula does.
Azula may not have succeeded in killing, but she has TRIED several times, more than any character on the show. And NEVER in defense of her life. And always she appears to WANT to do it. Her intent is enough to increminate her as a person WHO DOES NOT DESERVE redemption.
As for the war...of course I know that there IS a war. I am well aware of the plot of the show. But, if you had read my point, ZUKO AND IROH ARE NOT ENEMY SOLDIERS. If anything, they are soldiers who have gone AWOL (absent without leave). Heck, that is even going to the extreme...Iroh and Zuko didn't willingly desert like Jeong Jeong. Zuko's being hunted just for bringing a little shred of shame to the family, and Iroh's charges are trumped up. So what if he opposed Zhao? The man tried to destroy the moon, which would have likely resulted in the end of the world.
Nothing these two have done is a killable offense, which is precisely why Ozai just wants Azula to bring them back to the Fire Nation. Killing them was entirely Azula's idea, and is NOT JUSTIFIED. I don't know how much I can stress this...you can EXPLAIN why Azula tried to kill them, but you can NEVER justify it.
The war has NOTHING to do with why Azula is chasing Zuko and Iroh. They are NOT from the Earth Kingdom. They did NOT switch sides. They did not choose to join the enemies of the Fire Nation. They wanted to stay with the Fire Nation, but Ozai didn't want them. So now they're just trying to hide. THE WAR HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.
I'm reminded of a book by Tim O'Brien. "Going After Cacciato." It takes place during the Vietnam war. One guy, called Cacciato, deserts, claiming he can make it all the way to Paris. Several other soldiers go after him to bring him back. What would happen had they caught him? He'd go to prison. They wouldn't open fire on the guy! He didn't joing the goddang V.C.! He just ran away! He abandoned his duty to the army, which is illegal and earns you jail time, but he didn't switch sides, therefore it is not ok for the G.I.'s to blow holes in him.
About Azula's escape...I didn't say the writer's made a bad idea in letting her escape. I know why they did it, I know they had to do it. I think you actually miss why they had Azula shoot Iroh before running away. They wanted to secure that image in our minds. They wanted to fix her as uncurable evil. I mean...she shot Iroh! Possibly the wisest, kindest, funniest character on the show! They want us to HHHHAAAATTTTEEE her. And, if that wasn't enough, they went a step further by having her shoot Aang. The hero! Do you, in any way, think Aang DESERVED that? So what if he's opposing the Fire Nation...any good, decent, compassionate human being should be opposing them. They've committed genocide and have been waging a relentless campaign of death and destruction for 100 years. Yeah, Aang's opposing them, and they deserve to be opposed.
As for Kyoshi...so what? I already covered this. Good guys kill all the time. What makes them better is that they feel remorse, and only do it as a last resort.
Besides, Kyoshi killing Chin was an accident. Watch that scene again. All she does is split off her island. It's just bad luck that the piece of rock he's standing on crumbles. It's clear that she didn't intend to kill him, but, being honest, she admits that her actions resulted in his death. But, do you really think she was giggling with glee about it? No.
One last question. Did you read my many, many detailed reasons for why Azula's redemption would destroy the show? You never adressed them.
And, you still provide no reason as to why Azula SHOULD be redeemed. What on earth would it bring to the story? How the heck could it possibly be explained? How are we supposed to forgive what she's done? How are we POSSIBLY supposed to accept that she COULD change? How is it ever going to make sense? What the heck are we supposed to do with all of the plot holes it would create? What about the compromise to the storyline itself by taking out this awesome villain? What on earth could her character have left if she's redeemed, considering how she has no qualities that could exist in a redeemed character?