 This video is sponsored by Avatar Generations. Adapted from the Avatar The Last Airbender universe, Avatar Generations is a free-to-play mobile RPG by Navigator Games, where you can assemble a squad of iconic heroes and villains from a deep roster. Choose from the likes of Aang, Zuko, Tov, even the man from this video, the main man himself, our tea-loving Uncle Iroh, as they explore a dynamic map of the four nations. Avatar Generations just released a brand new update for Earth Day, which is the rise of Kyoshi Update, based on the best-selling novel, which includes a brand new interactive and immersive campaign around the new collectible, Avatar Kyoshi, and the new timelines feature, where players can collect new heroes, as well as experience a new campaign adventure based on an avatar from our previous or future generation in the franchise. The Rise of Kyoshi campaign will be introducing new characters from the Rise of Kyoshi, who will be visualized and getting official Nickelodeon voiceovers for the very first time ever. Some of these characters include Kyoshi herself, without the Kyoshi warrior look, Avatar Yoon, Kel Sang, Rangi, and more, as the new narrative follows them exploring the Yokoya Peninsula and the early events of the Rise of Kyoshi. The Rise of Kyoshi update is available now for free, for iOS and Android devices. You can download it today from the App Store or the Google Play Store. In one of our very first interactions with the Fire Nation Royal Family, we are thrust into a culture that is so comfortable with the violence and war. We see what a culture of war and domination looks like. How normal it is, even for the children. In Zuko alone, Ursa gathers her children to read the letter of her brother-in-law's siege to Ba Sing Se. Jokes about an entire city being burnt to the ground are met with laughter by Ursa and her children. A bustling iconic city with people and culture, and what makes it even more real is the gifts that Iroh gives to Zuko and Azula. For Zuko, the knife of a surrendered general, and for his niece, Adal, wearing the latest Earth Kingdom fashion, a representation of the very culture he intends to burn to the ground. In Legacy of the Fire Nation, Iroh writes that war, destruction, desolation, and the subjugation of all other peoples were a part of the family business. He caught the virus of power and was drawn into the madness of battle. He was cut from the same cloth as Sozin and Azulon, not as ruthless or stubborn as Ozai, but smart and calculated was the Dragon of the West. 600 days he spent in the Earth Kingdom, we are never shown it, but we know that lives were lost, the great general of the Fire Nation lost soldiers, and he surely was responsible for the death of many. Did the deaths of his own soldiers change him? How about the lives that he took? The Dragon of the West was on the front lines, engaged in battle. Did those deaths change him? No, he is a man who only changed because he lost his son, not the lives of countless others. And even after he returned home, abandoning his conquest, he remained an important part of the Fire Nation, offering support and guidance in their war rooms and other war related matters as they went on to successfully wipe out all the air nomads, and as they went to sea to crush the water tribes, and as they continued to colonize parts of the Earth Kingdom. When reflecting on Iroh, to me the most important lesson learned is that change is possible for everybody, but it's also that no one is perfect. Oftentimes when reading about these characters in this series, the flaws of so many of these beloved characters, and in this case Iroh's, tend to be overlooked, they tend to be washed away, glossed over. Iroh is not a perfect man by any standard, and I think that idea makes his character that much greater. He isn't the arbiter of morality, and that's okay. In fact that's what makes him so interesting, to me at least. Even putting his past aside, there's something that can be said about his passivity throughout the series towards the Fire Nation's wrongdoings and towards his brothers, as with each episode they march towards senseless death. The way he watches Zuko terrorize the southern water tribe and burn down Kyoshi Village, and then there's some of his more questionable behavior when it comes to June. When it comes to Zula and Iroh, I think there's something to be said about how he disregarded the princess, leaving her in the hands of her brother, knowing the type of man Ozai is. Iroh writes that his brother was not only ruthless, but incredibly ambitious, that he was an incredibly angry, rage-filled man. The clearest and most concise definition he gives of Ozai is that Ozai was a man without love. However, knowing first hand that Ozai was all of these things, from what we are shown, he never gives Ozula the grace that he grants Zuko. There are no second chances, there aren't even attempts. And we can trace that back to even before he lost his son. On Fire Island, the one portrait there is of Iroh and their extended family, he's holding Zuko up, as if he were his own child. But no Azula. When it came down to send gifts during his siege, he gave Zuko the one thing he needed, in the form of a gift. That knife was validation that he could indeed fight and be confident in his abilities. And the inscription was something that would go on to define Zuko. The Zuko we see lives his life according to that inscription, never give up without a fight. And to Azula, he gives a doll, an impersonal, cold, uninspired gift. He leaves his niece, his only niece, alone with a man without love. She's crazy and needs to go down. Iroh says that about Azula. A day or a few days after she struck him down. A statement in context that is understandable, but also further represents how far their relationship has truly fallen. I think it's questionable that Iroh settles down in a place he refers to as his biggest failure. Mostly because of his loss, but not because of the damage he dealt to the city. Painting a picture of Iroh that doesn't include his flaws to me makes him a weaker character across the board. It does a disservice to the well-written character that he is. Because it disregards Iroh's most important quality. I think even more than Zuko, he is the series' shining representation of change and growth. And I like to think that Iroh's redemption isn't over. It's only been a few years since Luten passed. The wound is fresh. He still makes mistakes and he still has faults as an individual that he's trying to change. It's all a continuous effort to pay for the man that he was and to atone for everything that he's done. To me, Iroh is who he is and the reason he is able to spread such valuable wisdom about peace and love and kindness is because he was on the other side of the fence. He was the man consumed by fire and violence. His hands are soaked with blood forever and he knows what it's like to walk down that path. And he especially knows what it feels like to one day regret it. He paid the price with his only son. He paid the price and has been a laughing stock of the Fire Nation. Known as a weak warrior, a weak man, a failure, that loss should have made him stronger, more ruthless, hungrier. That's what he's known as. Instead, he came out of that seeking love and kindness, understanding that these are the greatest emotions and feelings that he will ever feel. Without his flaws, he wouldn't have been able to show Zuko what true change and what true growth looks like. Zuko has been close to his uncle since they were young. We know that even from the portrait, Zuko was close to the man Iroh was, to the dragon of the west, to the great general Iroh, and now close to the man that Iroh is. He's witnessed his uncle's growth in real time. Iroh is relatable for that reason. I think that's why so many people cling to him and to Zuko, because they aren't perfect, because their flaws and their failures are magnified. More than that, so many have done things that they regret immensely, things that they might never even be able to apologize for. They've been at rock bottom, just like Iroh. The general was so far gone, was so lost after having lost his son, that he managed to even reach the spirit world to look for him, who he never found. He then lost his birthright. He was no longer heir to the throne. His very identity and his pride had all been taken away from him. And yet, he comes back and even greater man. Through these flaws, he gives people hope that they can change. It's for that reason that Iroh isn't perfect, so that he can inspire others to still try and chase love. To still try and be worthy of love. To one day change and grow to the point that they feel deserving of love, despite what has been done. To simply try, despite what you've been.