A Tribute to a Wonderful Villain

Warning: This post contains minor spoilers for Avatar the Last Airbender. If you have not seen the whole series, read at your own risk!!!


That sounds bad. I'm not an evil psychopath or something, I promise. Even though I'm writing a tribute to a villain. And who is this best of evil terrors? She is filled with a cool hatred, a calm, calculated wrath. She cares nothing for life; killing with impunity.

Azula. She is one of the best written villains I've ever seen. As a part of the audience, she terrifies and horrifies me. As a writer, I find her wonderful. She does everything a good villain does. Her calm disregard for life and ability to do whatever she needs to get what she wants is more frightening than Zuko's burning anger. Zuko is made less frightening simply by virtue of the fact that he does everything he does for a reason. He is driven to his actions by his anger and passion; his desire to regain the honor he feels he's lost. He is a villain I can sympathize with. Azula on the other hand does everything she does because she can. Or you could say because she wants power. She didn't lose something she feels she needs to regain, she's not trying to prove herself or anything like that. She simply wants power. Power to command others. The way she's written shows her consuming desire and her seemingly unflappable nature. Normally being unflappable is considered a good trait, but around Azula it just leads to more deaths. She does not care how many people die in order for her to get what she wants. She enjoys it when people cringe and cower before her. She loves the idea that she has power over others. Her friends are her friends only because they fear her. And she likes it that way. *SPOILERS*  But in the end her quest for power drives her to madness.

She begins to suspect everyone around her of coveting her power. She begins to fear. She sends everyone away in order to save her power, but she only hastens on her own demise. She allows herself to lose her cool logic in an attempt to protect her power from others. She believes herself invincible and yet sees enemies in every shadow of the fire.

She allows her thirst for power to destroy her and in the end is beaten by Zuko and Katara. The woman who starts out as one of the most frightening villains I've ever seen to an insane, pitiable creature. She allows thirst for power to not only corrupt her but to destroy her. She was written well; terrifying, horrifying, and in the end, pitiable.