Sometimes I need you to stay away from me

If we knew each other back then, do you think we could've been friends?

Zuko and Aang, despite their differences, are really parallel characters. Though this is mostly explored in season three, even as early as season one, the theme is evident. Aang feels deeply responsible for everything that's happened in the war with the Fire Nation and feels that he's let everyone down—in a sense, lost his honor—by running away one hundred years ago. While Zuko's issues aren't nearly as heroic, he also obviously has similar issues with honor, feeling he's let his dad (and, by proxy, the Fire Nation itself) down and now has to save face by capturing Aang.

It's no coincidence that Aang's and Zuko's pasts are explained in the same episode (S01E12, "The Storm"). As kids, both were set apart from their families—Aang because he was the Avatar, and no one really knew how to treat him; Zuko because he spoke out against the way the war was being run and got himself into trouble. In a sense, both are exiled—Zuko literally, Aang of his own choice when he runs away from his duties.

S01E12 goes one step further with the parallels, showing how Zuko's and Aang's pasts affect them now. Both Aang and Zuko face the storm and do a bit of heroics: Aang saves Sokka and a fisherman; Zuko saves his ship and its crew, even though he said earlier that he didn't care about them. Both of these boys have the capacity to rise above their screwed up pasts and do something good in the here and now…though Aang's way better at that than Zuko is.

Unfortunately, Zuko spends most of the series thinking of Aang as a means to and end rather than a human being. Just as Aang represents hope to Katara, he also represents hope to Zuko—but in a completely different context. Initially, Zuko believes capturing Aang is the only way to regain his father's affection—or, as Zuko puts it, his "honor."

Over the course of the series, however, Zuko and Aang learn that they actually work quite well together even though Zuko's obsessive Capture The Avatar vibe is causing issues. Their escape from Zhao's fortress may be initiated by Zuko (as the Blue Spirit), but Aang keeps up quite well and ultimately is the reason the two of them survive (S01E13, "The Blue Spirit"). And much later, it's only by working together that Zuko and Aang are able to meet the Sun Warriors and learn the truth behind firebending (S03E13, "The Firebending Masters").

But it's well into third season before Zuko is actually in a position to appreciate Aang and everything he stands for. When Zuko finally stands up to his dad and leaves the Fire Nation, it's for the express purpose of teaching Aang firebending and defeating Ozai once and for all. After their outing to find the Sun Warriors, Zuko begins to see Aang as an ally and friend. While Zuko's pretty hardcore as Aang's teacher, pushing Aang to think things through and work hard, he obviously believes Aang can do what needs doing.

Though Zuko's got his hands full dealing with Azula during the arrival of Sozin's Comet, he tells Katara he's more worried about Aang and his battle with Ozai than he is about fighting Azula (S03E20, "Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno"). By the end of the series, Zuko's come to see Aang as a friend, someone to be concerned about. And, as a real testament to how much Aang can grow on you, grumpy, anti-social Zuko actually gives him a hug in the end, continuing the trend of Firelords and Avatars being BFF, though hopefully this time without all the betrayal and warmongering to follow. D'awww.


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