Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV Series) Zuko Alone (2006) User Reviews

One of my favorite episodes

[irishboy141 · 10/10 · 16 April 2020]

Avatar is one of my favorite shows, containing unparallelled maturity, humor, dealing with heavy subjects, and containing severalof the best character archs ever written.

This episode is more of a standalone one off about Zuko drifting through a rural earth kingdom village (It's very reminiscent of old westerns).

Zuko's interactions with common people and the reveal of his childhood/relationship with his mother was heartbreaking and explains alot. He's such a complex and interesting character, the voice acting and writing is excellent.

Everything is perfect and ends about as tragically as you'd expect.

One of the best episodes

[mhdreiling · 10/10 · 26 February 2020]

This is probably one of the finest episodes in a series that is by itself one of the very best ever. The writing is masterful, bringing a depth to characters usually unseen in any kind of show, let alone an animated children's show. The flashbacks are used in a way that expand the narrative for the whole series. And this episode is the one that makes Zuko the best character, the more layered and nuanced one, in a series full of great characters.

The Best

[neo_raptor_1989 · 10/10 · 18 January 2007]

One of the best Avatar Chapters, one special chapter dedicated to Zuko. After Leavin Iroh, Zuko travels by the earth nation seeking for his fate, and recalling his past. In one village, Zuko finds that the earth nation soldiers had repress the town and had the villagers under his control. by staying whit o family from the earth nation, Zuko starts to remember the sequence of events that would lead him to be exiled of the fire nation and burn by his own father. even when those events are not specifically seen on the chapter, we can see how Zuko has pass trough many thing, and why Iroh had to leave Ba Sing Se and why his brother Osai Took his place as Lord of Fire

Amazingly written episode

[wonderjas77 · 10/10 · 22 May 2020]

This episode highlights the most amazing character arc of the show. I was stunned. It captivates your emotions as it delves into a deeper narrative through each scene. Avatar is not just a children's show. It tells a story much more complex and beautiful than you would imagine.

Simply the best

[Gus-Lannister · 10/10 · 8 June 2020]

Zuko becomes Clint Eastwood and this is without a doubt the best episode of book 2

Incredible character-writting!

[and_mikkelsen · 10/10 · 29 October 2023]

This episode cerments why Zuko is the best written character of the entire show! This gives us brilliant insight into his youth and we can see the complexity and inner conflict within him! Something that will play a major role later on!

The flashbacks in the episode were great as we see how Zuko was just an ordinary kid, seeking his fathers approval, and how his mother was a key figure in shaping him to become the person we know! Someone who never gives up without a fight!

Azula is a great contrast, as she already then was cruel and cold without a shred of emotions! We also get to see what might have happened to Zukos mother and how Ozai becamd Firelord!

The stuff in the present is equally great as we see just how complex Zuko is! He is not pure evil and actually wants to do whats right, but his heritage prevents him from convincing others.. that he just wants to help!

Brilliant episode about Zuko trying to figure out WHO he is!

Zuko isn't that bad

[tareqziad-07814 · 10/10 · 3 July 2019]

This episode tells us that Zuko isn't that bad he looks to be ... He's just obssessed to reunite with his family that he's always missed by serving the Avatar to his father ... I think Zuko is a good person .

The Greatest Character Arc

[kobedawson · 10/10 · 28 April 2023]

Let me start off by saying, Zuko is possibly the greatest written animated character I've ever seen. His character couldn't have been written any better and at this point in the story we aren't at the peak of it yet.

"Zuko Alone" is a perfect example of writing a side character in his own episode in a phenomenal way. The ending was sad and converts perfectly with the title. The firebenders have a history with people of just burning down villages and people in the process, which shows they have a bad reputation. Unfortunately, this falls upon the weight of Zuko, who is just looking for a home.

Just watch it, probably the best episode in Book 2.

(Conveniently this falls on my birthday lol.)

The best episode since pilot

[ansonlam · 10/10 · 8 May 2021]

This episode was a very welcome break from our main protagonists. It explores the sentimental backstory of Zuko and marks the true beginning of his growth as a character. It fills in the story of the Fire Lord and the royal family which were not previously explored in depth.

The ambience of the episode perfectly reflected Zuko's situation - lonely, abandoned, and traumatized. The flashbacks paint the trauma in Zuko's childhood, which finally explain his personality in past episodes. This episode wraps up his character arc since the pilot, and begins to show how the character of Zuko will change over the next episodes.

This episode has made Zuko, by far, one of my favorite antagonists of all time.

The Greatest Episode I've watch

[datuganbros · 10/10 · 10 October 2021]

This episode shows Zuko's Tragic Backstory from what I like about this episode is that Zuko is not a Bad Guy afterall but a Good Guy. Zuko is a well written character.

Best episode of tv ever

[kmmgqfwyy · 10/10 · 2 June 2021]

I could watch this episode everyday and not get tired of it. It is so good. This episode is what made me decide Zuko is my favourite character in any media. The way it conveys how Zuko isn't a bad guy but is trying to be good and made a few mistakes along the way is amazing. The ending is heartbreaking and it conveys everything great about Avatar The Last Airbender in one episode.

Honour!

[matitya-33937 · 10/10 · 15 February 2024]

I don't know what to say about this episode that hasn't already been said by pretty much everyone who talks about. It is as great as everyone says it is and for all the reasons that they say it is.

I love the backstory this episode gives to Prince Zuko and Princess Azula and how it expands on Zuko's established backstory. Now lines like "my father says she was born lucky, he says I was lucky to be born" and "Azula always lies. Azula always lies" are given context showing the specific gravity of those words.

We even get bits and pieces of General Iroh's backstory which are consistent with what came about it in the rare previous episodes that alluded to it.

The non-flashback portions of the episode effectively show us what the show would be like if Zuko were the protagonist instead of Aang and while I don't generally love anti-heroes, Zuko is great in that capacity.

This is by far the best episode of Season 2 and while I still maintain that The Storm is the best episode of the show, this episode gives it a run for its money.

Incredible

[markilkovic · 10/10 · 24 February 2024]

No episode so far has been this well done. The flashbacks of Zuko and the fire lord/nation are so intriguing and add so much depth to the character which i just did not expect early on. They are shaping and developing Zuko's character perfectly while keeping his character's identity which now in retrospect is much more understandable and it makes you want to root for him. I sense him and Aang will have a future correction when both realize who they truly are and what their main goal is/ who they need to defeat (The Fire Lord) which will bring then finally bring Zuko true peace and love for himself.

Overall amazing character focused episode. This isn't a "best episode off all time" 10/10 episode in my opinion but rather a perfect progression of plot and added depth/motive of a character 10/10.

Another Step on Zuko's Path to Redemption

[adamlewxs · 9/10 · 22 April 2024]

Great mix of showing more of Zuko's backstory and his present day character development.

Zuko's better nature is starting to become more prominent with him looking more to do good in the world. We see this in his reluctance to steal from the couple on the road at the beginning and willingness to help the family he meets in the village. We would have never seen this from season 1 Zuko - great character development.

The flashbacks give great insight into how he came to be destructive and selfish (as we first saw him), when it's clear his nature is to be more empathetic. He is under constant pressure to show his strength and power to earn the approval of his father and grandfather. Similar theme to the previous episode with Toph of how destructive family expectations can be, though this time in reverse - where Toph was restricted as her family expected too little, too much is demanded of Zuko. Clear to see how he goes down the wrong path without his mother to bring out the best in him.

Other details that I liked were the continuations of social themes that have been so prominent:

• sexism experienced by Azula seen when Iroh only thinks to send her a doll whilst giving Zuko a weapon
• destructive impact of war and power both through the conflict it creates in Zuko's family (which is suggested to lead to Zuko's father killing his grandfather) as well as on the normal soldiers and their families
• nuance in who is good and bad. Whilst the fire nation are clearly worse overall, we see the corruption of parts of the Earth kingdom army

The only thing that holds this back from being a 10/10 for me is that Azula largely comes off as one-dimensional with how naturally evil she is in all aspects as a young child. Just found it quite jarring especially in contrast to Zuko who's given so much more depth. Perhaps they could have focused more clearly on how the sexism she faced is what drove her to be so cruel since it's only vaguely hinted at in this episode.

Overall, loved the great character showcase for Zuko - maybe the best arc of the whole series and episodes like this are exactly why.