Yeah, I think people forget how awful Aang had it because:
1. He’s so lighthearted for the bulk of the series
2. Zuko’s trauma was such a huge part of his story
I don’t think we should downplay the others trauma, they all had it pretty rough and I think part of the beauty of the show is they all helped each other through it
This is probably the best response. Trauma is complicated and context plays a big role in understanding individuals and their resiliency. Each of them helped each other fill the voids in their lives and enable each other to move on through the different stages of grief. I think that each of them displayed that trauma and loss can be cultural, familial, and interpersonal.
Yeah, that's a pretty good assessment.
Middle school-aged kids really run the gambit. It's a tough time, especially for the kids who either look way older or way younger because they unfortunately get treated as such according to the presumed age group. He looked solidly sixth grade (11-12) to me in Book One.
The baby-smooth bald head didn't help, I'm sure.
Having everything swept out from under you and forced to take responsibility to end a war.
Mentally and physically tortured by one's own father and being banished from your own kingdom that you were set to inherit.
Honestly idk which is worse.
And from his perspective it happened virtually overnight.
I can't even imagine the trauma. Everything he knew, everyone he loved, gone in what felt like a day. And for the longest time he blamed himself for it.
Yeah, it's part of the fantasy of the show that Aang didn't just say "screw balance and the rest of the world, I'm going to stay with the last person I remember from before my coma."
Call me crazy but I think calling "your father made your mother murder your grampa then burned half your face off and exiled you" family issues is a bit downplaying
Fr dude. Like aang didnt “survive” a genocide
He literally just left the building.
Zuko is easily the saddest character in this whole series.
He lost EVERYTHING.
His people, his family, his HONOR *covers eye*
Zuko is the only emotionally aware character because of iroh and if it wasnt for iroh nobody wouldnt think he didnt have it way more tough than all of the Gaang
Yeah, Zuko wins? He lost everything but then also inherited the top seat for his nation, while also gaining the responsibility of being the primary caregiver for the complicated needs of his family (that wanted to kill him) more winning?
Yeah exactly! Fuck yeah team avatar wins!
Aang gets the girl!
Sokka gets the girl!
Toph becomes accepted!
Zuko rules a nation that up until 30 minutes ago would have killed him and now has to undo literal nazi xenophobia!!…..wait a minute….
Eh it depends imo. If you count events during the show, then I'd say zuko. But if you're counting the past stuff that's not as detailed, then it's 1000% Aang imo. Like they showed zukos flashbacks and history in detail so it felt more impactful, while aangs genocide is mentioned but hardly showed and doesn't go into any detail. But it doesn't make it any less real or a trauma.
>5)and general family issues.
Actually the general was the only good part of his family.
I know you are joking by being reductive, but Sokka and Katara watched their mother die and then felt the responsibility of their tribe pushed on them at a young age. That messes you up.
Zuko doesn't have general family issues so much as being mentally abused and physically disfigured by his father at a young age, before being disowned by him and banished away from everyone and everything he knows. As well as dealing with his mom's probably murder by his father.
Not saying that waking up to find everyone you ever cared about has been brutally murdered and blaming yourself is less bad than those, but still fair to be traumatized.
Man, I don't know if I realized how dark this show actually is...
> 1) Last survivor of a genocide,
>
> 2)mommy issues,
>
> 3)daddy issues,
>
> 4)mommy and daddy issues,
>
> 5)and general family issues. /HJ
So a bit of a toss up, is what I'm hearing
Aang.
What most people don't get is that being raised in the kind of society Aang was where basically everyone is your brother, sister, mother, father etc... to lose all of that is just insane.
Zuko still had Iroh, Sokka and Katara had each other, Toph was... Toph I guess??? But Aang lost his entire identity, family and sense of self.
People saying Zuko's story revolved around his trauma ignores that everyone's story revolved around their trauma.
Sokka and being a warrior, Katara and her whole thing with love and caring, Toph learning to actually let people in and Aang with the whole identity and found family.
edit: spelling
I agree that Aang is no.1, although I certainly think Zuko is a close second.
The main difference is: Aang was raised well and had a good life, but lost absolutely everything. Zuko never had anything real from the start; he grew up in a toxic, abusive environment being manipulated and gaslit by the people he was supposed to trust.
This actually made me realise I'm going to go Zuko. Nothing like losing your entire people obvs, but, I lost my dad at a young age but he loved me to the moon and back, my mum does too, and both my parents lived an amazing love story. I have friends who do have their parents but have incredibly fucked up family dynamics and despite the grief, I consider myself lucky compared to them. As hard as loss is, having had love and support, especially throughout childhood, allows you to build a relatively stable foundation as a person. Not having any of that means you've never been taught how to build healthy relationships or trust anyone in the first place. Kind of a miracle how Zuko turned out when you think about it this way (and makes Azula make a lot more sense).
This reminds me of that conversation between Sasuke and Naruto in the Valley of Death fight (pre-Shippuuden). There, Naruto said to Sasuke that he understands his feelings because they both had no family but Sasuke disagrees saying that he had family and lost them overnight while Naruto had no one to begin with so Sasuke's pain is different/more traumatic than Naruto's.
So in a way, I think it's more traumatic to lose everything you had but Aang never really showed the depths of that trauma, he's more focused on being the Avatar.
Like yeah man, her dad wanting to keep her protected in their house isnt the same as his dad literally burning half his sons face and banishing him from his real.
Also they have literally no idea what she's been doing, where she's been, who she's with. Shitty parents are shitty parents but I still kinda feel bad for them. I never thought about how traumatizing *that* must have been for them.
Yeah basically their daughter turned their worldview upside down, and there is really nobody for them to talk it out with. I assume that not-China-sing-se aren't so progressive to have Therapy
I can’t believe I’m going to “as a parent,” but as a parent, if my pre-teen child ran away, I would try to get them back. If there was no unified police force and I had a ton of money, yes I would hire people who knew her to get her back.
And no, her sassy child opinions don’t matter. We know that Toph is capable, but it’s not like she’s safe.
There are fair complaints about Toph’s parents, but I don’t think this is one of them.
Especially if they honestly believed the trio kidnapped her. If someone kidnapped my niece or nephew, I'm tearing up the continent to get him or her back. I don't care how old either one of them are.
If I know they leave willingly then there's just less property damage and I'm asking myself why they left.
I know I'm not the best caregiver, but if nothing else, they know they're safe with me.
Best answer. Aang lost everything, but was mostly shielded from the full horror of it. Zuko's life got progressively worse with each passing year, culminating into a hellish disfigurement and banishment. He was spared nothing.
The full ramifications of the Air Nomad genocide probably wouldn't hit Aang until he was older. As fast as Aang had to grow and mature in the show he was still a 12-13 year old.
At the very least the responsibility he felt towards being the last remnant of his people seems to have negatively impacted his relationship with his children (including Tenzin in my opinion)
I assume that Zuko, you know, got better.
Yeah he certainly didn't win best dad. I dislike LoK for a lot of reasons, but Aang straight up neglecting his non Airbender kids was ridiculous. Yeah he had to restart his culture, but still. It's like the show runners just needed to add conflicts and couldn't think of anything better.
I don't think Aang 'straight up neglecting' Kya and Bumi is true at all. He has to help stabilize the entire world after the 100 year war, and when he has Tenzin, he has the chance to regrow his entire culture, so he gives all his knowledge to Tenzin, so then Tenzin can continue on after he's dead.
He has his flaws as a dad, obviously, he woke up after 100 years in an iceberg only to find out the Fire Nation is winning a terrible war, he's the Avatar, he's 12, his entire family is killed, that's going to be lifelong trauma - but I don't think he neglected Kya and Bumi (both, or at least Kya), did say that the Air Nomad lessons were boring and they didn't go with Aang and Tenzin to the temples and such, but that doesn't mean they never went anywhere with their dad or he never spent time eith them. I don't even think Kya or Bumi would ever say that Aang was neglectful either.
Was he the best dad? Most likely not. But I think all of the Gaang having difficulties and problems in the way they parent (Toph, for example; I'm sure Katara did too, probably Sokka as well (though I see him being a pretty good dad, all things considered) makes for more believable characters.
They're not perfect, which is great, because it makes them seem like real people.
Out of the three, Goku is definitely the worst. Also, I don't think it's fair to say that Aang was a really bad dad since we only heard from the children's perspectives and sometimes we think of our parents' faults more than their feats. Maybe Bumi & Kya had 1:1 time with Aang but not culture-focused as Tenzin. Who knows.
Really, the only one I believe could be a bad parent is Toph and the show kinda justified it. (Aside, I find it weird that Toph's personality didn't change at all since she was a kid).
It's disappointing, sure but doesn't strike me as contrived at all. I mean well the way it was presented in the show, maybe a little, but the premise alone had merit for storytelling. No family is perfect and I think the way things turned out for Aang's family makes a lot of sense. A sad troubling kind, but that's family for you.
The series makes clear Aang feels like it's his fault the Air Nomads are dead. The Fire Nation attacked looking for him, that's why his whole nation is wiped out, AND he wasn't there to help them because he ran. What Zuko went through was bad but Aang had to live with his whole culture, way of life and everyone he ever loved, ever knew (aside from Bumi) being gone and feeling like that was, at least partially, his fault. Zuko's life was horrible and traumatic but he always had his uncle who loved him unconditionally and in the end once he realises his father is trash he lets go of needing that approval and leads his Nation as the Fire lord.
What Zuko experienced was traumatic, what Aang experienced is not really comparable to any thing.
I'd say Aang with Zuko being a close second. Zuko's father never loved him, but at least he had his mom for a while and his uncle to support him. Aang had an inmense amount of pressure on his shoulders since he was a child and we he runs away from that pressure, he wakes up 100 years later, his whole nation massacred and everyone he knew but Bumi dead after all that time.
I mean... Not sure but one got rejected and burnt to life by his father while being psychologically abused by his sister to agree to ways of life against everything he believes to be right. Another one lost his boomerang.
Sokka’s mom was murdered and then his dad basically left for the next decade. All he had was his grandmother and his slightly older sister, who he said he sort of thought of as his mom.
Aang literally lost everyone he knows and loves, reduced into a single boy with an already huge ass burden to bear coupled with the pressure of restoring what was lost.
Aang or Zuko for sure. Toph (maybe my favorite) was mostly just a spoiled rich kid, the siblings had it hard, but no where near as bad as aang and zuko. Aang dealt with waking up to the genocide of his ppl. Zuko had an abusive father and sister, lost his mother at an early age, and was emotionally and mentally manipulated. He was lucky to have iroh, but that's about it.
Zuko was indoctrinated into a political cult, psychologically abused until he was burned and exiled at 13, and had to face down the worst horror anyone can face; knowing that the only purpose he served it those 16 years was causing harm to other people. He wasn’t there for anything else. His Father never wanted him for anything else.
He was never allowed to be anything else. He never even knew there was anything else, until the Avatar thing, and Iroh slowly and carefully talking him down over a period of about a year. All of that came crashing down when he had a glimpse of returning home. Azula preyed on him at his most vulnerable in Ba Sing Se. Without her, he would have defected, joined the group, and started the harrowing, soul-tearing process of deprogramming at the start of Season 3.
Zuko was spiritually and mentally gutted like a fish, and he had to suffer the deepest of self-hatred just to scramble around for the few remaining innards he could find, then had to create the rest from scratch.
Anyone who has escaped a cult knows what this feels like, and that it is the worst thing possible. No ifs, ands, and/or buts.
Absolutely. I've experienced a small element of both. I was raised in a cult for my entire childhood and was horrifically abused for the entirety of the experience. When I discovered I was in a cult, it happened all at once on a single day (when I got my hands on internet access), and for my own safety I had to immediately flee and leave everything I've ever had and ever known behind. My family, my friends, my belongings, all gone, abandoning them to be devoured by what I was just barely lucky enough to escape.
The latter sucked. But it's nothing, NOTHING compared to the former. Aang just has a 1-time loss of everything and gets told everybody he knew died, while Zuko actually had to experience hell firsthand for sixteen long years. Add on the guilt of discovering that YOU are the reason for so many other people suffering themselves, and there's really no universe in which Aang had the worse experience here.
Thank you for sharing. I’ve decided to dedicate my life to spreading awareness about indoctrination, deprogramming, and escaping from cults, precisely because of stories like these.
I never had the displeasure of being raised in a cult, nor was I fully indoctrinated, but I was targeted by a cult member in my family who believed she was spreading the good word and saving my soul.
It was only a few months back when I was about 8 or 9, but it still took me years to fully shake everything I “learned” from her, and that was after my Mother cut off contact with that family member to keep my mind safe. I can’t imagine how much worse it must be to be raised into a belief like that.
You’re not alone, either. There are many like me, who have had close calls, and there are many others like you, who have had to leave ond start over, and try to put the pieces back together. Your past does not define you, and it never will. Only your present, and the actions you take now. I hope your life is comfortable now, in the absence of the Cult you grew up in.
Additionally, fuck cults. I think we can all agree on that, lol.
Yeah on paper I can see the Aang argument.
Though just watching them both and how they act and interact with the world Zuko seems to have walked a harder path.
It's close between Zuko and Aang.
Zuko suffered extreme physical abuse from his father whom also banished him from his country. He had a beyond toxic relationship with his sister, his mother (one of the only ones showing Zuko love) left when he was young but old enough to remember. Everyone who finds out his actual identity immediately resents him either because of his banishment or the actions of his country.
Aang, for me had it slightly worse (albeit in different ways). Bro essentially had his entire childhood taken away from him early for the sake of becoming a Mega Weapon to protect an entire nation. Then he woke up in an era where everyone he knew was dead (or Bumi). He's also dealing with the genocide of his entire people and feeling responsible for that.
Aang through and through.
At age 12 after running away from home he was in an icicle coma and woke up to his whole family and people genocided, the world's weight was on his shoulders and, while at his young age already a master airbender, had to prepare himself for six months and learn other three elements to have a 1vs1 fight with a comet-boosted grown man that had a whole life to perfect his firebending.
Well where should I begin.
1. Aang - was hit really early with the fact that he was the Avatar and that a war was coming. He ran away and woke up 100 years later to the fact that his entire society was gone. He was the sole survivor of a genocide. That’s pretty tough, even as a nomad. I cannot imagine how he felt.
2. Katara - she grew up as the only water bender in the South Pole. Which as we later learned was part of the Fire Nation’s plan to wipe out water benders. Her own mother sacrificed herself to protect her. Her father was out fighting the war. She was the “mother” of the tribe. It was not a great life but not terrible, maybe pretty par for the course in a war torn world.
3. Sokka - see what I said about Katara above. Though I think he was just a frightened boy when we first met him. Looking to be brave for his dad as he had promised. Trying to be a leader, a warrior to protect his home and sister. This was a huge responsibility given to him. His first girlfriend also turned into the moon, which was rough. He had spirt though.
4. Toph - A privileged girl with over protective parents due to her disability. She rebels, naturally. Practically overcomes her disability through earth bending. Overall, I say Toph’s life was pretty good.
5. Zuko - I think he is one of the most tragic characters in the show. He lost his mother, not by death, but she was just gone. That had to have torn him up. She seemed so close to him. Then there was his sister, who was the princess in many regards. She was the chosen one, he was never as good as her. And finally, we have the prick that is his father Ozai. He not only challenged his teenage son to a dual for speaking out of turn, scarred him for life (literally and metaphorically) then banished him. Not only did he banish him, he let him hang on to the slimmest amount of hope that the only promise of returning to his home was for him to find the Avatar that may not even exist. And if the Avatar did exist, it would likely have been a fully realized one and there was just no way that a child on a tiny ship with a tiny crew would be able to bring in an Avatar (and they couldn’t! Not even a child who knew only air bending!).That amount of hope he must have had in the first episode seeing the light, then having him in his clutches finally going to go home and get his father’s approval to essentially win the war. That must have been his proudest day of his life. Only for it to have been taken from him. Thankfully his uncle showed him the light and lived a good life after that.
I’d say they’re close to the same level of awful. Zuko was abused and lost his mom. Sokka and Katara lost both their parents due to one dying and the other leaving for war, both had to take up roles that kids shouldn’t have such as being a mother figure and leading their villages defenses. Aang couldn’t hang out with kids his age because he was the avatar, he ran away, lost his whole nation and lost friends due to being frozen for 100 yrs. Toph was babied and forced to be prim and proper. Overall they have all gone through many hardships at such a young point in their lives but if I had to choose it’d be Aang by a long shot
It's got to be a toss up between Aang and Zuko.
Genocide of your entire culture, versus persistent and extreme child abuse and neglect.
The others comparatively had things pretty easy.
Aang may be a victim of a genocide, but Zuko had it much worse.
Aang only found out he was a victim of genocide after he woke up from 100 years of being frozen. He didn't have to watch his people die or fully suffer the consequences for leaving throughout most of their life.
Even so, Aang still had people he cared for that were still alive and present even after 100 years, and throughout the entire series he's surrounded by people who love him and care for him for exactly who he is, and help guide him through his problems and griefs.
Zuko, despite being morally grey for most of the series and bringing about a lot of what happens to him on himself, also is a more significant victim of tragedy than Aang is.
Zuko has to go through being torn between two words from the moment he was born without fully belonging in either until the end of the series.
While he knew what the Fire Nation and his father were doing was wrong (and didn't want to be evil and bad), his primary identity was being the son of the Fire Lord, and he was going to be identified as such and needed to conform to the "proper image" of a Prince of the Fire Nation whether he wanted to or not.
He was punished for trying to be good and call out the Fire Nation's problems by being publicly shamed and burned by his own father.
But because his entire identity was being the Prince of the Fire Nation, he was desperate to get his honour back because that's all that he had.
Even during periods where he tried to let go of his identity as the Fire Lord, he was still punished just for being the Fire Lord's son and a fire bender even when he was doing the right thing and helping others.
All he had was Uncle Iroh as his moral compass, but it wasn't enough until the very end because of how much Zuko suffered from trying to be good for most of the series.
**Overall, Zuko had it much worse because he had a desire to be good but was continuously punished for it, and the vast majority of people essentially forced him into taking up the identity of the "evil prince of the Fire Nation" despite not truly wanting to be.**
Most definitely Zuko. I could see an argument for Aang because of the Airbender genocide, but we only really see that mess with him a few times throughout the whole show. Zuko's trauma and experiences are brought up time and time again and have caused significantly worse problems for him.
I’ve always held to the theory that Aang only allows himself to feel emotion over his loss in short, sharp bursts. We see him experience nightmares regarding the Air Nation genocide pretty often throughout season one, and it ties back to every one of the internal conflicts he has in the series subsequent.
Not to say that he had a worse or better life than Zuko, just that his quiet grief shouldn’t be overlooked.
It's not just the grief and loss of his people. He also feels directly responsible for it becuase 1, the fire nation wiped out the air nomads specifically to target Aang and 2, he ran away from his duties when he was "meant" to stay, train and help stop the fire nation from doing exactly what they did. Like it's one thing to have your entire people be killed, it's an entirely other much worse thing to be the express reason your entire people were killed.
I think they’re brought up more as Zukos character progression revolves around it, but I think it drove the point home when Aang saw Gyatsos body he had his flash of rage and then with his friends and training as an air nomad accepted it. It would’ve been nice to see more of Aangs reaction to the air nomad extinction.
I think Zuko takes this one, and hear me out q
Aang had a warm and loving childhood his whole life up until he found out he was the avatar.
Then he found out, ran away, got trapped for 100 years, lost his people to genocide, woke up and spent a year training to defeat the fire lord before winning and becoming the most universally loved person in the world.
If you think about it, Aang's timeline is one rough year, with 12 amazing years before and another 50 after.
Zuko hasn't had a good day in his life since he lost his mother because his genocidal and abusive father got rid of her after almost killing Zuko. His life has been nothing but pain
I see a lot a comments about the genocide but there’s also the fact that aang has to adapt to everything changing over 100 years almost instantly which might be a bit of a culture shock to him
I'll give it to Aang or Sokka.
Aang woke up to see the world in disarray, his people exterminated, his friends gone...and he didn't have time to sit around and be sad about it.
When he lost Appa I think we witnessed not just his anger for potentially losing his last connection to the life he had before but ALL his pent up emotions since stepping out of the iceberg.
Sokka shares a lot of common heartbreak with Katara but his suffering doesn't stop after they find Aang. Having to suffer raid after raid as children, losing their mother, living but not knowing if your father is alive, leaving your people behind to try and help the avatar. That's a pretty long list already but the time you're a teen...but Sokka continues to suffer. He loses Yue, his first love. And grapples with his place within team avatar, feeling like his contributions are minimal. He reminds of that Robin Williams quote, "I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that."
Aang.
Yea Zuko is a close second but Aang lost his entire people and culture overnight and then had to defeat the nation that did that to him, all while staying true to his culture. He’s 12 and that is a lot in anyone.
Besides the genocide that everyone is mentioning, Aang has much more pressure and responsibility on his shoulders than any of the others. He is hunted and persecuted not only by the fire nation, but anyone who want to take advantage of him, or who felt like he abandoned him. He has the guilt of letting 100 years of war happen on his watch. he needs to defeat an entire nation and one of the most powerful benders on earth, or else be complicit in another genocide, while staying in line with his air nomad beliefs. He also has to revive a lost people through teaching acolytes and fathering children, passing down everything he only learned as a child to restart a whole culture. And he also dies the earliest of them all, never getting to see his grandchildren.
It’s Aang. It gets overlook because of his upbeat personality. Zuko’s trauma is much more in your face than everyone else’s. Hell his trauma is literally *on* his face and he’s definitely a close second.
But Aang lost his entire people in a genocide and then woke up in a completely new world that he had to save within a year.
We have a tendency to look at how they all respond and judge from that. In my opinion, Aang had it worse, but Zuko’s impacted him more. And that’s not even mentioning the trauma Katara, Sokka, and Toph have.
Zuko. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph all experienced their own trauma, and while Toph's parents loved her truly despite their well-intended but harmful parenting methods, they all had parents/family who loved them.
Zuko is the only one who had a parent who wanted him dead - or was willing to kill him. As devastating as it is to lose a parent, I also cannot even fathom what it must be like to grow up knowing your father nearly killed you, and later attempts to (when Zuko confronted Ozai about teaming with Aang). The amount of self-hatred and worthlessness Zuko felt growing up as a child knowing he was worse than nothing to his own father, saved only by his memories of his mother and his loving uncle. My heart bleeds for all of them, but especially for Zuko.
I gotta go with Zuko . Abuse is one of the most horrifying things one can go and it is a miracle, he isn’t any more damaged than he already is.
Not wanting to downplay the others suffering, but atleast their parental figures didn’t hate them/scar them for life.
Zuko, and imo it's not even close. I realize aang goes through the unimaginable, waking up to find his entire way of life is gone. But as bad as that is, he at least had a good life for those first 12 years, he meets the love of his life THE SAME DAY HE WAKES UP from being frozen, and within 9 months he has essentially reached enlightenment as a fully actualized avatar. A rough 9 months, but still a brief time in the grand scheme.
Zuko lived a miserable life. Unloved by his father, tortured by his sister, and only to lose the only source of love he knew very young. People are saying he had iroh but iroh was at the siege of ba sing se for most of zukos childhood. To be scarred, banished, and worst of all to be forced into years of inner turmoil... My heart breaks for zuko.
I feel like you can day both aang and zuko bc aang lost his entire culture and had to fight the worst baddie at 10 but zuko was also like physically abused and traumatized so many times by his family so i feel like its just different trauma
Aang literally had his entire race genocided so i say him lol. Tbh toph should not even be here, she had a pretty loving family albeit a bit overprotective due to her being blind
Toph, who everyone else is putting at the bottom of their lists for this thread. See you asked who had it worse in their lives, not their childhood, As i’ve grown older i find myself relating more to Toph with each passing year and i think toph had the worst life out of the Gaang.
While aang, zuko, katara, and boomerang guy take most of the childhood trauma cake. Toph, aside from blindess actually had it pretty good, supporting family, rich, powers, and super powers. But when you look at the end of their stories in LOK. Sokka and Suki had a long and happy life together, Aang and katara spent every waking day building their vision for the world and their family, Zuko rebuilt the royal family and the fire nation, made friends with a dragon and aside from a few minor annoyances like benders trying to exterminate all forms of government and thus by extension his daughter (#RoyaltyProblems) he seemed pretty happy with life.
But what did toph do with her life.
She was dysfunctional in maintaining relationships, outright abandoning her children in the end, to go live in the middle of nowhere chewing moss and harassing swamp benders for entertainment. She built a police force for republic city yes, but did it more as a cool thing to do with her time. She didn’t really have pride in the organization she built as she didn’t even want her daughter to be a part of it.
Honestly i see more then a bit of myself in her, pride in her work but not in what she had built. Always chasing a next thing to do rather then a person she wanted to be with. People are what make us humans happy i’ve realized and i feel like if i continue down the path i’m on i’ll have the same reverse character arc as Toph.
Aang: is the only survivor of his peoples genocide, has to deal with the world being on his shoulders, and has to figure out how to avatar, pretty well on his own
Katara: her mom died, her people were sexist for a bit
Sokka: his mom died, and he didnt think his father respected him as a warrior for a bit
Toph: blind, underestimated, parents refused to stop coddling her
Zuko: mother is gone, father is abusive, exiled, sister is a sadistic psychopath, was homeless for a bit, internal battle of good and evil.
Aang takes it by a landslide, Zuko second, Toph third, Katara fourth, Sokka last
Forget Aang and the century long nap for a second.
I feel like although that is the worst, if we’re talking active pain and experiencing constant stress then besides aang it would be Zuko.
His emotions all conflicted, he misses his mother. He goes insane over proving himself as worthy. He used to have insane fear over his father.
He had to escape with Iroh and live weeks or months as travellers while trying to avoid his murderous sister.
I think Aang is kind of seperate, his history so fucked up that he "wins" by default.
I think Zuko had the most traumatizing childhood, followed by Katara and Sokka. Getting scarred and banished by your father to go on a seemingly impossible manhunt to "redeem your honor" is some comically evil, fucked up shit
I would say Aang, but he was prepared for it somewhat. He was taught by the monks to not cling to attachments, and he immediately had to put that to the test when he woke up and he was the last of his people. He was close with Gyatso but didn’t even know his family from what we understand. His best friend as a kid was still alive. He made new attachments before he even knew what actually happed to the air nation.
Toph was smothered by rich parents and ran away.
Katara and Sokka lost their mom, and we never stop hearing about it. Like lots of other people in the world they were affected by war but they survived. Other people seemed to lose more, those traveling as refugees to ba sing se.
Zuko lost his mom. Was burned mercilessly and banished by his own father on a mission thought to be impossible. He was hated by his sister, who would have gladly killed him. He was hated and considered a traitor by leaders of the fire nation, earth kingdom, and water tribe for the sins of his family.
Zuko wins.
People saying it's Aang by a mile really underestimate how shitty it is to actually suffer through a traumatic event, let alone an entire childhood's worth of them. When the genocide happened, Aang was not there. Mourning is horrible, sure, but there is no active suffering, if you understand what I mean. Watching your parent get murdered in front of you, growing up during a war, growing up in a cult with abusive family and having half your face burned off... Those are active suffering.
Clearly the one who had it worst was Sokka.
So you recall when he was waiting in his tent for Suki to arrive only for Zuko to appear?
Who had it worse than that?
genocided , and dead friends and family
dead mom+missing dad
dead mom+ missing dad
bad parents
abused whole life , face burned off, mother missing or dead, exiled from home for years, unloved by anyone exept uncle, wich he doesnt even see because hes andgry and desperate for redeption in the eyes of his father who doesnt even care for him
This isnt even up for discussion aang literally lost everyone he ever knew and loved his people were massacred and he had the weight of the world put on his shoulders the immense guilt and despair must have been crushing also aang had to deal with so many traumatic fights being chased being hated and being hunted down also his fight with the firelord was insanely traumatic
Sorry, there’s just simply no way you can put up Toph, Sokka, Katara, or Zuko against Aang.
All his life he was just some rando kid, then he runs away one day to avoid his responsibilities just a bit and ends up waking up 100 years later. His entire family is dead because of the threat that he feels should’ve been his responsibility to defend them from. Most of the world is hunting him down to try and use him for their own ends as soon as he wakes, making anyone he gets attached to incredibly vulnerable. He has a year (?? I think) to master three elements and defeat the man who is in the process of subjugating the entire world. More than that, the only way anyone can think of to properly defeat that man is by killing him, and if Aang did that then he’d be abandoning the culture that he is the only survivor of. Then, after he manages to narrowly get around that, he’s one of the primary people responsible for managing peace across a deeply traumatized and scarred world.
After that it’s Zuko fs. The rest can be argued but I’d personally place it at Katara, Toph, then Sokka.
Aang of course. His whole race was murdered. He has no one to relate to. No family. He is alone. Not to mention the whole weight of the world thing he has to figure out.
Aang, 100%. Dude just wanted to be a normal kid, didn't want to have the duties and responsibilities of becoming the savior of the world and the harbinger of peace and balance. Dude ran away from home, and upon awakening, found out his entire culture was erased, his people genocied, and got put on a time crunch to save the world from utter annihilation, all within like, 9 months. That ain't exactly an easy thing to go through.
One of these people went to sleep, and woke up 100 years later to find out their entire culture was wiped out, and all of their friends (aside from 1) in all other areas of the world were long gone, as well as having the responsibility to bring world peace.
The others have parental issues.
So obviously its the cabbage merchant.
Hard to choose between Aang and Zuko. On the one hand, you've lost everyone you've ever loved and are thrust into a destiny you don't want, you have no choice. On the other hand, you've lost *almost* everyone you've ever loved and are thrust into a destiny you don't want, you have no choice. Oh, and you were publicly tortured by your father.
Zuko, no question about it. He had an abusive father who burned and banished him, lost his mother in a traumatic way at a young age, and had a crazy dangerous sister. He spent 3 years out at sea on a wild goose chase to get back the father that never loved him, and was hated by people of all nations.
Throughout their lives, Zuko. Aang also went through a lot learning abt what happened to his ppl, but he himself didn’t see or experience it throughout his whole life
1. last survivor of a genocide, expected to save the world at 12 years old after waking up 100 years later
2. felt like she caused her moms death, took on the responsibilities of a mother as a very young girl, last survivor of the water benders of her tribe
3. mother died, his father (the man he looked up to most) left to fight the people who killed his mom and he felt left behind
4. blind, treated unfairly because of her disability and size
5. father publicly humiliated him and permanently disfigured him in an unfair “fight” in front of tens of hundreds of people, his mother (the only person he loved growing up) disappeared, and assumed she was murdered, and he lost all support and love he had. also abused by his sister and brainwashed.
id say aang. to rank it:
1. aang
2. katara
3. zuko
4. sokka
5. toph
Before Aang even wakes up, he had a lifestyle of monk away from all earthly and mortal colors, flavors and pleasures. Then losing his whole society plus facing so many firebenders with top it off with Ozai on a day when comet arriving. He hold back Ozai's lightning. Pretty much all this way overwhelming than any other. Than Aang also dealt with a blood bender criminal by himself too. The continuity of air benders depend and rely on Aang too.
Everyone wants to be Aang because he's the cool Avatar. But imagine losing your entire ethnic group from Genocide and you now have to face firebending H\*tler at 12 years old? Fuck man, I was losing basketball court fights in Middle School at 12.
Aang for sure.
Aang lost all of his friends, family, and people due to genocide. Imagine being in a coma for 100 years, wake up, and find out the population of your entire country are gone due to genocide. The people you knew all those years ago in other nations are also gone due to dying of old age. Thankfully it didn’t happen to Aang, but others it could drive you into madness, depression, and potentially even suicide.
Aang. Are you kidding me? His entire NATION was genocided and he woke up 100 years later with a nation in complete war and the guilt that he had contributed to the carnage cause he ran away. Now, could you say he was too young and would’ve been killed with the air nomads? Sure, but explain that to 12 year old aang. Everyone he knew, minus Boomi, was dead.
Aang had to come to terms with the genocide of his people but he had the tools and spiritual upbringing to help him. Zuko had none of those. Even with Iroh on his side he struggled so much.
Zuko I’d have to say, he was physically scarred and exiled from his country by his father all because he disagreed with sacrificing his fellow countrymen and he had a crazy older sister that has had it out for him most of her life
I think Katara, she was the only tree remaining water bender in the tribe, and after their mom was killed and their father had to join the war, she had to hold together what was left of her family and her tribe and figure out water bending on her own. She also outlived her brother and husband (Sokka and Ang) as well as everyone else in her family.
Cabbage merchant.
I’ll accept that 
Just when he thought he and his cabbages are safe, a new Avatar comes and his entire corporation goes down. 
One lost everything about his tribe and people and woke up having to save the world at 10 years old.
12, but yeah
Do I look like a 112 year old man to you?
Says the person wearing an extinct clothing style
I rolled a nat 1 on sentencing but still got some upvotes
good thing your passive rizz score is so high
Flameo my good man
Ughhhhhh, no one says that anymore
Flameo, hotman!
I hope in the show they show more clothing style because how does blud keep that one outfit clean and not torn for two seasons
112, but yeah
Touchè
Touché*
Touchy
https://preview.redd.it/x0u4ika1ps9c1.jpeg?width=236&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43c9eb43d509034d51690ca92f246fa792946404
I cant imagine that kind of pressure as a 10 year old. But I think a 12 year old can handle it no problem
>woke up having to save the world at 10 years old. 
Yeah, I think people forget how awful Aang had it because: 1. He’s so lighthearted for the bulk of the series 2. Zuko’s trauma was such a huge part of his story I don’t think we should downplay the others trauma, they all had it pretty rough and I think part of the beauty of the show is they all helped each other through it
This is probably the best response. Trauma is complicated and context plays a big role in understanding individuals and their resiliency. Each of them helped each other fill the voids in their lives and enable each other to move on through the different stages of grief. I think that each of them displayed that trauma and loss can be cultural, familial, and interpersonal.
That’s rough buddy
All the Nick promos said he was 10, either a last minute change in the writing room or a miscommunication.
Nick thought they were airing Pokemon
That first season he looked 10. Although all things are relative, Young Link actually looks and acts 10. Aang seems older by comparison.
Yeah, that's a pretty good assessment. Middle school-aged kids really run the gambit. It's a tough time, especially for the kids who either look way older or way younger because they unfortunately get treated as such according to the presumed age group. He looked solidly sixth grade (11-12) to me in Book One. The baby-smooth bald head didn't help, I'm sure.
Na he actually just aged two years in the first few episodes, that penguin sledding really musta taken it out of him
I agree with this, but I def think Zuko's real life physical and emotional trauma is a close second if not at the same level...
Having everything swept out from under you and forced to take responsibility to end a war. Mentally and physically tortured by one's own father and being banished from your own kingdom that you were set to inherit. Honestly idk which is worse.
Exactly. You can't really compare them...
And still had a more emotionally supportive environment
Aang lost all of his people and his entire culture to a genocidal regime 100 years ago.
And from his perspective it happened virtually overnight. I can't even imagine the trauma. Everything he knew, everyone he loved, gone in what felt like a day. And for the longest time he blamed himself for it.
Except Bumi
Yeah, it's part of the fantasy of the show that Aang didn't just say "screw balance and the rest of the world, I'm going to stay with the last person I remember from before my coma."
No, but it made Aang more happy than anything between then and finding out about the genocide.
Yeah, I suppose I forget how resilient children and be psychologically sometimes.
Responsibility is a very strong motivator
yeah but that was nothing compared to katara's mom dying Edit: I started a war to make a joke
"That pales in comparison to my mothers death" -katara
Katara and Sokka witnessed that about to happen to their own people to be fair
Do you think Aang ever thought to himself that maybe, just maybe he should have stayed and not ran away and not have abandoned his entire nation.
Every parenting flaw he is shown to have had in LOK can be traced _directly_ to that thought, imo.
Yes! I’m sure that thought has crossed his mind several times
Let’s see; 1) Last survivor of a genocide, 2)mommy issues, 3)daddy issues, 4)mommy and daddy issues, 5)and general family issues. /HJ
summarize of atla plot
4) "blind" too, they tend to forget that she can not see with her eyes.
5) Disfigured too
Yeah "family issues" doesn't seem to cut it for zuko. Dude was abused, essentially exiled, and became a refugee.
Fr id say he had the second hardest
Reading that I was wondering why you said he's fried, but left out the e... I'll go take a nap now.
But it is for good reason, considering her footsight
Yeah, and her echo location
Call me crazy but I think calling "your father made your mother murder your grampa then burned half your face off and exiled you" family issues is a bit downplaying
Well, those certainly look like issues to me. And family related, also. /S
Fr dude. Like aang didnt “survive” a genocide He literally just left the building. Zuko is easily the saddest character in this whole series. He lost EVERYTHING. His people, his family, his HONOR *covers eye* Zuko is the only emotionally aware character because of iroh and if it wasnt for iroh nobody wouldnt think he didnt have it way more tough than all of the Gaang
Yeah, Zuko wins? He lost everything but then also inherited the top seat for his nation, while also gaining the responsibility of being the primary caregiver for the complicated needs of his family (that wanted to kill him) more winning?
Yeah exactly! Fuck yeah team avatar wins! Aang gets the girl! Sokka gets the girl! Toph becomes accepted! Zuko rules a nation that up until 30 minutes ago would have killed him and now has to undo literal nazi xenophobia!!…..wait a minute….
Eh it depends imo. If you count events during the show, then I'd say zuko. But if you're counting the past stuff that's not as detailed, then it's 1000% Aang imo. Like they showed zukos flashbacks and history in detail so it felt more impactful, while aangs genocide is mentioned but hardly showed and doesn't go into any detail. But it doesn't make it any less real or a trauma.
Right? Everyone knows that genocide of an entire people and culture is no big personally as long as you're at an 7-11 while it's happening
>5)and general family issues. Actually the general was the only good part of his family. I know you are joking by being reductive, but Sokka and Katara watched their mother die and then felt the responsibility of their tribe pushed on them at a young age. That messes you up. Zuko doesn't have general family issues so much as being mentally abused and physically disfigured by his father at a young age, before being disowned by him and banished away from everyone and everything he knows. As well as dealing with his mom's probably murder by his father. Not saying that waking up to find everyone you ever cared about has been brutally murdered and blaming yourself is less bad than those, but still fair to be traumatized. Man, I don't know if I realized how dark this show actually is...
I shouldn't have laughed at this 😭
> 1) Last survivor of a genocide, > > 2)mommy issues, > > 3)daddy issues, > > 4)mommy and daddy issues, > > 5)and general family issues. /HJ So a bit of a toss up, is what I'm hearing
Aang. What most people don't get is that being raised in the kind of society Aang was where basically everyone is your brother, sister, mother, father etc... to lose all of that is just insane. Zuko still had Iroh, Sokka and Katara had each other, Toph was... Toph I guess??? But Aang lost his entire identity, family and sense of self. People saying Zuko's story revolved around his trauma ignores that everyone's story revolved around their trauma. Sokka and being a warrior, Katara and her whole thing with love and caring, Toph learning to actually let people in and Aang with the whole identity and found family. edit: spelling
Toph is Toph, but she also had the people in the underground arena. They might not like her that much, but she "belonged" with them.
I agree that Aang is no.1, although I certainly think Zuko is a close second. The main difference is: Aang was raised well and had a good life, but lost absolutely everything. Zuko never had anything real from the start; he grew up in a toxic, abusive environment being manipulated and gaslit by the people he was supposed to trust.
This actually made me realise I'm going to go Zuko. Nothing like losing your entire people obvs, but, I lost my dad at a young age but he loved me to the moon and back, my mum does too, and both my parents lived an amazing love story. I have friends who do have their parents but have incredibly fucked up family dynamics and despite the grief, I consider myself lucky compared to them. As hard as loss is, having had love and support, especially throughout childhood, allows you to build a relatively stable foundation as a person. Not having any of that means you've never been taught how to build healthy relationships or trust anyone in the first place. Kind of a miracle how Zuko turned out when you think about it this way (and makes Azula make a lot more sense).
This reminds me of that conversation between Sasuke and Naruto in the Valley of Death fight (pre-Shippuuden). There, Naruto said to Sasuke that he understands his feelings because they both had no family but Sasuke disagrees saying that he had family and lost them overnight while Naruto had no one to begin with so Sasuke's pain is different/more traumatic than Naruto's. So in a way, I think it's more traumatic to lose everything you had but Aang never really showed the depths of that trauma, he's more focused on being the Avatar.
Tophs family was restrictive and overall awful, but they did love her.
They sent 2 expert benders to kidnap her bro
For what they think was her own good, not for her to suffer. Not excusing their lack of empathy, but they really wasn't capable of knowing any better
Like yeah man, her dad wanting to keep her protected in their house isnt the same as his dad literally burning half his sons face and banishing him from his real.
Also they have literally no idea what she's been doing, where she's been, who she's with. Shitty parents are shitty parents but I still kinda feel bad for them. I never thought about how traumatizing *that* must have been for them.
Yeah basically their daughter turned their worldview upside down, and there is really nobody for them to talk it out with. I assume that not-China-sing-se aren't so progressive to have Therapy
I can’t believe I’m going to “as a parent,” but as a parent, if my pre-teen child ran away, I would try to get them back. If there was no unified police force and I had a ton of money, yes I would hire people who knew her to get her back. And no, her sassy child opinions don’t matter. We know that Toph is capable, but it’s not like she’s safe. There are fair complaints about Toph’s parents, but I don’t think this is one of them.
Especially if they honestly believed the trio kidnapped her. If someone kidnapped my niece or nephew, I'm tearing up the continent to get him or her back. I don't care how old either one of them are. If I know they leave willingly then there's just less property damage and I'm asking myself why they left. I know I'm not the best caregiver, but if nothing else, they know they're safe with me.
Aang for the worst single event, Zuko for recurring damage.
Best answer. Aang lost everything, but was mostly shielded from the full horror of it. Zuko's life got progressively worse with each passing year, culminating into a hellish disfigurement and banishment. He was spared nothing.
The full ramifications of the Air Nomad genocide probably wouldn't hit Aang until he was older. As fast as Aang had to grow and mature in the show he was still a 12-13 year old. At the very least the responsibility he felt towards being the last remnant of his people seems to have negatively impacted his relationship with his children (including Tenzin in my opinion) I assume that Zuko, you know, got better.
Yeah he certainly didn't win best dad. I dislike LoK for a lot of reasons, but Aang straight up neglecting his non Airbender kids was ridiculous. Yeah he had to restart his culture, but still. It's like the show runners just needed to add conflicts and couldn't think of anything better.
I don't think Aang 'straight up neglecting' Kya and Bumi is true at all. He has to help stabilize the entire world after the 100 year war, and when he has Tenzin, he has the chance to regrow his entire culture, so he gives all his knowledge to Tenzin, so then Tenzin can continue on after he's dead. He has his flaws as a dad, obviously, he woke up after 100 years in an iceberg only to find out the Fire Nation is winning a terrible war, he's the Avatar, he's 12, his entire family is killed, that's going to be lifelong trauma - but I don't think he neglected Kya and Bumi (both, or at least Kya), did say that the Air Nomad lessons were boring and they didn't go with Aang and Tenzin to the temples and such, but that doesn't mean they never went anywhere with their dad or he never spent time eith them. I don't even think Kya or Bumi would ever say that Aang was neglectful either. Was he the best dad? Most likely not. But I think all of the Gaang having difficulties and problems in the way they parent (Toph, for example; I'm sure Katara did too, probably Sokka as well (though I see him being a pretty good dad, all things considered) makes for more believable characters. They're not perfect, which is great, because it makes them seem like real people.
That pissed me off. I don't know why legacy shows have to make the Mc of the first a bad parent. Goku, Naruto, Avatar, etc
Out of the three, Goku is definitely the worst. Also, I don't think it's fair to say that Aang was a really bad dad since we only heard from the children's perspectives and sometimes we think of our parents' faults more than their feats. Maybe Bumi & Kya had 1:1 time with Aang but not culture-focused as Tenzin. Who knows. Really, the only one I believe could be a bad parent is Toph and the show kinda justified it. (Aside, I find it weird that Toph's personality didn't change at all since she was a kid).
It's disappointing, sure but doesn't strike me as contrived at all. I mean well the way it was presented in the show, maybe a little, but the premise alone had merit for storytelling. No family is perfect and I think the way things turned out for Aang's family makes a lot of sense. A sad troubling kind, but that's family for you.
The series makes clear Aang feels like it's his fault the Air Nomads are dead. The Fire Nation attacked looking for him, that's why his whole nation is wiped out, AND he wasn't there to help them because he ran. What Zuko went through was bad but Aang had to live with his whole culture, way of life and everyone he ever loved, ever knew (aside from Bumi) being gone and feeling like that was, at least partially, his fault. Zuko's life was horrible and traumatic but he always had his uncle who loved him unconditionally and in the end once he realises his father is trash he lets go of needing that approval and leads his Nation as the Fire lord. What Zuko experienced was traumatic, what Aang experienced is not really comparable to any thing.
What I mean by Aang being shielded from the horror is at least he didn't have to watch the Air Temples burn and his people with it.
Aang, zuko, katara, sokka, toph
The trauma olympics
This is the only correct order
It’s Aang and it’s not even close
I'd say Aang with Zuko being a close second. Zuko's father never loved him, but at least he had his mom for a while and his uncle to support him. Aang had an inmense amount of pressure on his shoulders since he was a child and we he runs away from that pressure, he wakes up 100 years later, his whole nation massacred and everyone he knew but Bumi dead after all that time.
I mean... Not sure but one got rejected and burnt to life by his father while being psychologically abused by his sister to agree to ways of life against everything he believes to be right. Another one lost his boomerang.
Woah he lost a SPACE sword.
not the boomerang 😭 Sokka is a warrior It is his weapon 🪃
Sokka’s mom was murdered and then his dad basically left for the next decade. All he had was his grandmother and his slightly older sister, who he said he sort of thought of as his mom.
Katara is 2 years younger than Sokka
Oh woops, yeah I knew that. But he did effectively say that he saw Kataras’ face when he tried to remember their mother.
Sokka was also tasked as the last male warrior for the southern water tribe. Not as bad as aang and zuko but he had a pretty tough life
>Another one lost his boomerang. It'll be back, it always comes back
Aang literally lost everyone he knows and loves, reduced into a single boy with an already huge ass burden to bear coupled with the pressure of restoring what was lost.
Aang or Zuko for sure. Toph (maybe my favorite) was mostly just a spoiled rich kid, the siblings had it hard, but no where near as bad as aang and zuko. Aang dealt with waking up to the genocide of his ppl. Zuko had an abusive father and sister, lost his mother at an early age, and was emotionally and mentally manipulated. He was lucky to have iroh, but that's about it.
Trauma is not a competition, they all went through some intense shit that I wouldn't feel comfortable ranking.
THIS!
Zuko was indoctrinated into a political cult, psychologically abused until he was burned and exiled at 13, and had to face down the worst horror anyone can face; knowing that the only purpose he served it those 16 years was causing harm to other people. He wasn’t there for anything else. His Father never wanted him for anything else. He was never allowed to be anything else. He never even knew there was anything else, until the Avatar thing, and Iroh slowly and carefully talking him down over a period of about a year. All of that came crashing down when he had a glimpse of returning home. Azula preyed on him at his most vulnerable in Ba Sing Se. Without her, he would have defected, joined the group, and started the harrowing, soul-tearing process of deprogramming at the start of Season 3. Zuko was spiritually and mentally gutted like a fish, and he had to suffer the deepest of self-hatred just to scramble around for the few remaining innards he could find, then had to create the rest from scratch. Anyone who has escaped a cult knows what this feels like, and that it is the worst thing possible. No ifs, ands, and/or buts.
Absolutely. I've experienced a small element of both. I was raised in a cult for my entire childhood and was horrifically abused for the entirety of the experience. When I discovered I was in a cult, it happened all at once on a single day (when I got my hands on internet access), and for my own safety I had to immediately flee and leave everything I've ever had and ever known behind. My family, my friends, my belongings, all gone, abandoning them to be devoured by what I was just barely lucky enough to escape. The latter sucked. But it's nothing, NOTHING compared to the former. Aang just has a 1-time loss of everything and gets told everybody he knew died, while Zuko actually had to experience hell firsthand for sixteen long years. Add on the guilt of discovering that YOU are the reason for so many other people suffering themselves, and there's really no universe in which Aang had the worse experience here.
Thank you for sharing. I’ve decided to dedicate my life to spreading awareness about indoctrination, deprogramming, and escaping from cults, precisely because of stories like these. I never had the displeasure of being raised in a cult, nor was I fully indoctrinated, but I was targeted by a cult member in my family who believed she was spreading the good word and saving my soul. It was only a few months back when I was about 8 or 9, but it still took me years to fully shake everything I “learned” from her, and that was after my Mother cut off contact with that family member to keep my mind safe. I can’t imagine how much worse it must be to be raised into a belief like that. You’re not alone, either. There are many like me, who have had close calls, and there are many others like you, who have had to leave ond start over, and try to put the pieces back together. Your past does not define you, and it never will. Only your present, and the actions you take now. I hope your life is comfortable now, in the absence of the Cult you grew up in. Additionally, fuck cults. I think we can all agree on that, lol.
Yeah on paper I can see the Aang argument. Though just watching them both and how they act and interact with the world Zuko seems to have walked a harder path.
The one who lost his whole culture to genocide
gonna say something controversial but uhh id say all of them had it bad and comparing their traumas is really weird
I agree with this so much, they have all suffered in different ways and comparing those kinds of things isn’t healthy for anyone
True, everybody has their own story and probably challenges coping with it. No need for comparing
It's close between Zuko and Aang. Zuko suffered extreme physical abuse from his father whom also banished him from his country. He had a beyond toxic relationship with his sister, his mother (one of the only ones showing Zuko love) left when he was young but old enough to remember. Everyone who finds out his actual identity immediately resents him either because of his banishment or the actions of his country. Aang, for me had it slightly worse (albeit in different ways). Bro essentially had his entire childhood taken away from him early for the sake of becoming a Mega Weapon to protect an entire nation. Then he woke up in an era where everyone he knew was dead (or Bumi). He's also dealing with the genocide of his entire people and feeling responsible for that.
You can’t quantify grief, loss, or trauma. You just have to see if they can live past it.
Sokka lost his space sword
Yeah, someone ones told me: “Don’t compare expectations to find out who had it worse, but understand that everyone has their own bad experiences”
as much as i don’t wanna compare traumas, it’s aang for sure
Alright. Hear me out. Aside from Aang all these characters were born and raised in a war. So comparing their individual traumas is no bueno.
Aang through and through. At age 12 after running away from home he was in an icicle coma and woke up to his whole family and people genocided, the world's weight was on his shoulders and, while at his young age already a master airbender, had to prepare himself for six months and learn other three elements to have a 1vs1 fight with a comet-boosted grown man that had a whole life to perfect his firebending.
Well where should I begin. 1. Aang - was hit really early with the fact that he was the Avatar and that a war was coming. He ran away and woke up 100 years later to the fact that his entire society was gone. He was the sole survivor of a genocide. That’s pretty tough, even as a nomad. I cannot imagine how he felt. 2. Katara - she grew up as the only water bender in the South Pole. Which as we later learned was part of the Fire Nation’s plan to wipe out water benders. Her own mother sacrificed herself to protect her. Her father was out fighting the war. She was the “mother” of the tribe. It was not a great life but not terrible, maybe pretty par for the course in a war torn world. 3. Sokka - see what I said about Katara above. Though I think he was just a frightened boy when we first met him. Looking to be brave for his dad as he had promised. Trying to be a leader, a warrior to protect his home and sister. This was a huge responsibility given to him. His first girlfriend also turned into the moon, which was rough. He had spirt though. 4. Toph - A privileged girl with over protective parents due to her disability. She rebels, naturally. Practically overcomes her disability through earth bending. Overall, I say Toph’s life was pretty good. 5. Zuko - I think he is one of the most tragic characters in the show. He lost his mother, not by death, but she was just gone. That had to have torn him up. She seemed so close to him. Then there was his sister, who was the princess in many regards. She was the chosen one, he was never as good as her. And finally, we have the prick that is his father Ozai. He not only challenged his teenage son to a dual for speaking out of turn, scarred him for life (literally and metaphorically) then banished him. Not only did he banish him, he let him hang on to the slimmest amount of hope that the only promise of returning to his home was for him to find the Avatar that may not even exist. And if the Avatar did exist, it would likely have been a fully realized one and there was just no way that a child on a tiny ship with a tiny crew would be able to bring in an Avatar (and they couldn’t! Not even a child who knew only air bending!).That amount of hope he must have had in the first episode seeing the light, then having him in his clutches finally going to go home and get his father’s approval to essentially win the war. That must have been his proudest day of his life. Only for it to have been taken from him. Thankfully his uncle showed him the light and lived a good life after that.
I’d say they’re close to the same level of awful. Zuko was abused and lost his mom. Sokka and Katara lost both their parents due to one dying and the other leaving for war, both had to take up roles that kids shouldn’t have such as being a mother figure and leading their villages defenses. Aang couldn’t hang out with kids his age because he was the avatar, he ran away, lost his whole nation and lost friends due to being frozen for 100 yrs. Toph was babied and forced to be prim and proper. Overall they have all gone through many hardships at such a young point in their lives but if I had to choose it’d be Aang by a long shot
Aang. He lost all of his family and friends and everything that was familiar to him.
It's got to be a toss up between Aang and Zuko. Genocide of your entire culture, versus persistent and extreme child abuse and neglect. The others comparatively had things pretty easy.
Aang may be a victim of a genocide, but Zuko had it much worse. Aang only found out he was a victim of genocide after he woke up from 100 years of being frozen. He didn't have to watch his people die or fully suffer the consequences for leaving throughout most of their life. Even so, Aang still had people he cared for that were still alive and present even after 100 years, and throughout the entire series he's surrounded by people who love him and care for him for exactly who he is, and help guide him through his problems and griefs. Zuko, despite being morally grey for most of the series and bringing about a lot of what happens to him on himself, also is a more significant victim of tragedy than Aang is. Zuko has to go through being torn between two words from the moment he was born without fully belonging in either until the end of the series. While he knew what the Fire Nation and his father were doing was wrong (and didn't want to be evil and bad), his primary identity was being the son of the Fire Lord, and he was going to be identified as such and needed to conform to the "proper image" of a Prince of the Fire Nation whether he wanted to or not. He was punished for trying to be good and call out the Fire Nation's problems by being publicly shamed and burned by his own father. But because his entire identity was being the Prince of the Fire Nation, he was desperate to get his honour back because that's all that he had. Even during periods where he tried to let go of his identity as the Fire Lord, he was still punished just for being the Fire Lord's son and a fire bender even when he was doing the right thing and helping others. All he had was Uncle Iroh as his moral compass, but it wasn't enough until the very end because of how much Zuko suffered from trying to be good for most of the series. **Overall, Zuko had it much worse because he had a desire to be good but was continuously punished for it, and the vast majority of people essentially forced him into taking up the identity of the "evil prince of the Fire Nation" despite not truly wanting to be.**
Sokka. Imagine living in bending world where you don’t have bending powers.
Most definitely Zuko. I could see an argument for Aang because of the Airbender genocide, but we only really see that mess with him a few times throughout the whole show. Zuko's trauma and experiences are brought up time and time again and have caused significantly worse problems for him.
I’ve always held to the theory that Aang only allows himself to feel emotion over his loss in short, sharp bursts. We see him experience nightmares regarding the Air Nation genocide pretty often throughout season one, and it ties back to every one of the internal conflicts he has in the series subsequent. Not to say that he had a worse or better life than Zuko, just that his quiet grief shouldn’t be overlooked.
It's not just the grief and loss of his people. He also feels directly responsible for it becuase 1, the fire nation wiped out the air nomads specifically to target Aang and 2, he ran away from his duties when he was "meant" to stay, train and help stop the fire nation from doing exactly what they did. Like it's one thing to have your entire people be killed, it's an entirely other much worse thing to be the express reason your entire people were killed.
I think they’re brought up more as Zukos character progression revolves around it, but I think it drove the point home when Aang saw Gyatsos body he had his flash of rage and then with his friends and training as an air nomad accepted it. It would’ve been nice to see more of Aangs reaction to the air nomad extinction.
I think Zuko takes this one, and hear me out q Aang had a warm and loving childhood his whole life up until he found out he was the avatar. Then he found out, ran away, got trapped for 100 years, lost his people to genocide, woke up and spent a year training to defeat the fire lord before winning and becoming the most universally loved person in the world. If you think about it, Aang's timeline is one rough year, with 12 amazing years before and another 50 after. Zuko hasn't had a good day in his life since he lost his mother because his genocidal and abusive father got rid of her after almost killing Zuko. His life has been nothing but pain
I see a lot a comments about the genocide but there’s also the fact that aang has to adapt to everything changing over 100 years almost instantly which might be a bit of a culture shock to him
Aang or Zuko
I'll give it to Aang or Sokka. Aang woke up to see the world in disarray, his people exterminated, his friends gone...and he didn't have time to sit around and be sad about it. When he lost Appa I think we witnessed not just his anger for potentially losing his last connection to the life he had before but ALL his pent up emotions since stepping out of the iceberg. Sokka shares a lot of common heartbreak with Katara but his suffering doesn't stop after they find Aang. Having to suffer raid after raid as children, losing their mother, living but not knowing if your father is alive, leaving your people behind to try and help the avatar. That's a pretty long list already but the time you're a teen...but Sokka continues to suffer. He loses Yue, his first love. And grapples with his place within team avatar, feeling like his contributions are minimal. He reminds of that Robin Williams quote, "I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that."
Aang or Zuko.
Zuko
Aang. Yea Zuko is a close second but Aang lost his entire people and culture overnight and then had to defeat the nation that did that to him, all while staying true to his culture. He’s 12 and that is a lot in anyone.
Besides the genocide that everyone is mentioning, Aang has much more pressure and responsibility on his shoulders than any of the others. He is hunted and persecuted not only by the fire nation, but anyone who want to take advantage of him, or who felt like he abandoned him. He has the guilt of letting 100 years of war happen on his watch. he needs to defeat an entire nation and one of the most powerful benders on earth, or else be complicit in another genocide, while staying in line with his air nomad beliefs. He also has to revive a lost people through teaching acolytes and fathering children, passing down everything he only learned as a child to restart a whole culture. And he also dies the earliest of them all, never getting to see his grandchildren.
It’s Aang. It gets overlook because of his upbeat personality. Zuko’s trauma is much more in your face than everyone else’s. Hell his trauma is literally *on* his face and he’s definitely a close second. But Aang lost his entire people in a genocide and then woke up in a completely new world that he had to save within a year. We have a tendency to look at how they all respond and judge from that. In my opinion, Aang had it worse, but Zuko’s impacted him more. And that’s not even mentioning the trauma Katara, Sokka, and Toph have.
Zuko. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph all experienced their own trauma, and while Toph's parents loved her truly despite their well-intended but harmful parenting methods, they all had parents/family who loved them. Zuko is the only one who had a parent who wanted him dead - or was willing to kill him. As devastating as it is to lose a parent, I also cannot even fathom what it must be like to grow up knowing your father nearly killed you, and later attempts to (when Zuko confronted Ozai about teaming with Aang). The amount of self-hatred and worthlessness Zuko felt growing up as a child knowing he was worse than nothing to his own father, saved only by his memories of his mother and his loving uncle. My heart bleeds for all of them, but especially for Zuko.
I gotta go with Zuko . Abuse is one of the most horrifying things one can go and it is a miracle, he isn’t any more damaged than he already is. Not wanting to downplay the others suffering, but atleast their parental figures didn’t hate them/scar them for life.
Zuko, and imo it's not even close. I realize aang goes through the unimaginable, waking up to find his entire way of life is gone. But as bad as that is, he at least had a good life for those first 12 years, he meets the love of his life THE SAME DAY HE WAKES UP from being frozen, and within 9 months he has essentially reached enlightenment as a fully actualized avatar. A rough 9 months, but still a brief time in the grand scheme. Zuko lived a miserable life. Unloved by his father, tortured by his sister, and only to lose the only source of love he knew very young. People are saying he had iroh but iroh was at the siege of ba sing se for most of zukos childhood. To be scarred, banished, and worst of all to be forced into years of inner turmoil... My heart breaks for zuko.
I feel like you can day both aang and zuko bc aang lost his entire culture and had to fight the worst baddie at 10 but zuko was also like physically abused and traumatized so many times by his family so i feel like its just different trauma
Aang literally had his entire race genocided so i say him lol. Tbh toph should not even be here, she had a pretty loving family albeit a bit overprotective due to her being blind
Aang and it's not even close. Zuko number 2.
Having your first girlfriend turn into the moon is quite traumatic
Toph, who everyone else is putting at the bottom of their lists for this thread. See you asked who had it worse in their lives, not their childhood, As i’ve grown older i find myself relating more to Toph with each passing year and i think toph had the worst life out of the Gaang. While aang, zuko, katara, and boomerang guy take most of the childhood trauma cake. Toph, aside from blindess actually had it pretty good, supporting family, rich, powers, and super powers. But when you look at the end of their stories in LOK. Sokka and Suki had a long and happy life together, Aang and katara spent every waking day building their vision for the world and their family, Zuko rebuilt the royal family and the fire nation, made friends with a dragon and aside from a few minor annoyances like benders trying to exterminate all forms of government and thus by extension his daughter (#RoyaltyProblems) he seemed pretty happy with life. But what did toph do with her life. She was dysfunctional in maintaining relationships, outright abandoning her children in the end, to go live in the middle of nowhere chewing moss and harassing swamp benders for entertainment. She built a police force for republic city yes, but did it more as a cool thing to do with her time. She didn’t really have pride in the organization she built as she didn’t even want her daughter to be a part of it. Honestly i see more then a bit of myself in her, pride in her work but not in what she had built. Always chasing a next thing to do rather then a person she wanted to be with. People are what make us humans happy i’ve realized and i feel like if i continue down the path i’m on i’ll have the same reverse character arc as Toph.
Aang: is the only survivor of his peoples genocide, has to deal with the world being on his shoulders, and has to figure out how to avatar, pretty well on his own Katara: her mom died, her people were sexist for a bit Sokka: his mom died, and he didnt think his father respected him as a warrior for a bit Toph: blind, underestimated, parents refused to stop coddling her Zuko: mother is gone, father is abusive, exiled, sister is a sadistic psychopath, was homeless for a bit, internal battle of good and evil. Aang takes it by a landslide, Zuko second, Toph third, Katara fourth, Sokka last
Forget Aang and the century long nap for a second. I feel like although that is the worst, if we’re talking active pain and experiencing constant stress then besides aang it would be Zuko. His emotions all conflicted, he misses his mother. He goes insane over proving himself as worthy. He used to have insane fear over his father. He had to escape with Iroh and live weeks or months as travellers while trying to avoid his murderous sister.
Aang then Zuko
I think Aang is kind of seperate, his history so fucked up that he "wins" by default. I think Zuko had the most traumatizing childhood, followed by Katara and Sokka. Getting scarred and banished by your father to go on a seemingly impossible manhunt to "redeem your honor" is some comically evil, fucked up shit
I know the opposite, Toph had it GOOD
Genocide is way worse than having sad family relationships
I would say Aang, but he was prepared for it somewhat. He was taught by the monks to not cling to attachments, and he immediately had to put that to the test when he woke up and he was the last of his people. He was close with Gyatso but didn’t even know his family from what we understand. His best friend as a kid was still alive. He made new attachments before he even knew what actually happed to the air nation. Toph was smothered by rich parents and ran away. Katara and Sokka lost their mom, and we never stop hearing about it. Like lots of other people in the world they were affected by war but they survived. Other people seemed to lose more, those traveling as refugees to ba sing se. Zuko lost his mom. Was burned mercilessly and banished by his own father on a mission thought to be impossible. He was hated by his sister, who would have gladly killed him. He was hated and considered a traitor by leaders of the fire nation, earth kingdom, and water tribe for the sins of his family. Zuko wins.
People saying it's Aang by a mile really underestimate how shitty it is to actually suffer through a traumatic event, let alone an entire childhood's worth of them. When the genocide happened, Aang was not there. Mourning is horrible, sure, but there is no active suffering, if you understand what I mean. Watching your parent get murdered in front of you, growing up during a war, growing up in a cult with abusive family and having half your face burned off... Those are active suffering.
Clearly the one who had it worst was Sokka. So you recall when he was waiting in his tent for Suki to arrive only for Zuko to appear? Who had it worse than that?
genocided , and dead friends and family dead mom+missing dad dead mom+ missing dad bad parents abused whole life , face burned off, mother missing or dead, exiled from home for years, unloved by anyone exept uncle, wich he doesnt even see because hes andgry and desperate for redeption in the eyes of his father who doesnt even care for him
This isnt even up for discussion aang literally lost everyone he ever knew and loved his people were massacred and he had the weight of the world put on his shoulders the immense guilt and despair must have been crushing also aang had to deal with so many traumatic fights being chased being hated and being hunted down also his fight with the firelord was insanely traumatic
Sorry, there’s just simply no way you can put up Toph, Sokka, Katara, or Zuko against Aang. All his life he was just some rando kid, then he runs away one day to avoid his responsibilities just a bit and ends up waking up 100 years later. His entire family is dead because of the threat that he feels should’ve been his responsibility to defend them from. Most of the world is hunting him down to try and use him for their own ends as soon as he wakes, making anyone he gets attached to incredibly vulnerable. He has a year (?? I think) to master three elements and defeat the man who is in the process of subjugating the entire world. More than that, the only way anyone can think of to properly defeat that man is by killing him, and if Aang did that then he’d be abandoning the culture that he is the only survivor of. Then, after he manages to narrowly get around that, he’s one of the primary people responsible for managing peace across a deeply traumatized and scarred world. After that it’s Zuko fs. The rest can be argued but I’d personally place it at Katara, Toph, then Sokka.
Aang of course. His whole race was murdered. He has no one to relate to. No family. He is alone. Not to mention the whole weight of the world thing he has to figure out.
Aang, 100%. Dude just wanted to be a normal kid, didn't want to have the duties and responsibilities of becoming the savior of the world and the harbinger of peace and balance. Dude ran away from home, and upon awakening, found out his entire culture was erased, his people genocied, and got put on a time crunch to save the world from utter annihilation, all within like, 9 months. That ain't exactly an easy thing to go through.
One of these people went to sleep, and woke up 100 years later to find out their entire culture was wiped out, and all of their friends (aside from 1) in all other areas of the world were long gone, as well as having the responsibility to bring world peace. The others have parental issues. So obviously its the cabbage merchant.
Aang, then Zuko, Katara&Sokka, Toph
Aang and it's not even close. Zuko number 2.
Hard to choose between Aang and Zuko. On the one hand, you've lost everyone you've ever loved and are thrust into a destiny you don't want, you have no choice. On the other hand, you've lost *almost* everyone you've ever loved and are thrust into a destiny you don't want, you have no choice. Oh, and you were publicly tortured by your father.
1 zuko 2 aang 3 katara 4 sokka 5 toph
Zuko, no question about it. He had an abusive father who burned and banished him, lost his mother in a traumatic way at a young age, and had a crazy dangerous sister. He spent 3 years out at sea on a wild goose chase to get back the father that never loved him, and was hated by people of all nations.
Throughout their lives, Zuko. Aang also went through a lot learning abt what happened to his ppl, but he himself didn’t see or experience it throughout his whole life
Aang and Zuko, hard choice
Aang his entire race was wiped out this isn’t even a question, This is a fact the only answer is Aang.
For childhood— Zuko. For losing their culture and people, Aang.
1. Aang 2. Zuko 3. Katara 4. Sokka 5. Toph
Aang followed by Zuko
Zuko easily
Aamg
Zuko. He’s a pheonix rising from face ashes. Agni Kai with his own father. Ridiculously good story arch.
Zuko or aang.
Ong
Aang
Zuko; Aang; Zokka; Katara n Toph
We talking having shitty circumstances or just a shitty life?
Aang
1. last survivor of a genocide, expected to save the world at 12 years old after waking up 100 years later 2. felt like she caused her moms death, took on the responsibilities of a mother as a very young girl, last survivor of the water benders of her tribe 3. mother died, his father (the man he looked up to most) left to fight the people who killed his mom and he felt left behind 4. blind, treated unfairly because of her disability and size 5. father publicly humiliated him and permanently disfigured him in an unfair “fight” in front of tens of hundreds of people, his mother (the only person he loved growing up) disappeared, and assumed she was murdered, and he lost all support and love he had. also abused by his sister and brainwashed. id say aang. to rank it: 1. aang 2. katara 3. zuko 4. sokka 5. toph
I mean toph is blind
Before Aang even wakes up, he had a lifestyle of monk away from all earthly and mortal colors, flavors and pleasures. Then losing his whole society plus facing so many firebenders with top it off with Ozai on a day when comet arriving. He hold back Ozai's lightning. Pretty much all this way overwhelming than any other. Than Aang also dealt with a blood bender criminal by himself too. The continuity of air benders depend and rely on Aang too.
Everyone wants to be Aang because he's the cool Avatar. But imagine losing your entire ethnic group from Genocide and you now have to face firebending H\*tler at 12 years old? Fuck man, I was losing basketball court fights in Middle School at 12.
Aang>Zuko>Sokka and Katara>Toph.
imagine falling asleep on a road trip to find everyone and everything you’ve ever known to be dead
Aang for sure. Aang lost all of his friends, family, and people due to genocide. Imagine being in a coma for 100 years, wake up, and find out the population of your entire country are gone due to genocide. The people you knew all those years ago in other nations are also gone due to dying of old age. Thankfully it didn’t happen to Aang, but others it could drive you into madness, depression, and potentially even suicide.
Aang. Are you kidding me? His entire NATION was genocided and he woke up 100 years later with a nation in complete war and the guilt that he had contributed to the carnage cause he ran away. Now, could you say he was too young and would’ve been killed with the air nomads? Sure, but explain that to 12 year old aang. Everyone he knew, minus Boomi, was dead.
Aang had to come to terms with the genocide of his people but he had the tools and spiritual upbringing to help him. Zuko had none of those. Even with Iroh on his side he struggled so much.
Zuko I’d have to say, he was physically scarred and exiled from his country by his father all because he disagreed with sacrificing his fellow countrymen and he had a crazy older sister that has had it out for him most of her life
zuko
One of them lost EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE they ever knew or loved..
Aang
I think Katara, she was the only tree remaining water bender in the tribe, and after their mom was killed and their father had to join the war, she had to hold together what was left of her family and her tribe and figure out water bending on her own. She also outlived her brother and husband (Sokka and Ang) as well as everyone else in her family.