loopy777

How to Create Meaningful Conflict

Ursa.

Zuko's mother.

The biggest loose-end in the entire Avatar franchise.

For years, the creators of Avatar couldn't give an interview without being asked about what happened to her, or when the fans would find out. It even got the point where they incorporated a joke about it into the premiere of The Legend of Korra, a joke that actively angered about a quarter of the fandom. (Warning: statistics cited in this essay are completely made up.) A whole genre of fanfiction rose up to collect theories about her history, and/or her whereabouts after ATLA's finale. For such an important character, though, she seemed to be a cipher, a unknown quantity onto which fans could project all kinds of personalities and histories. It was said that when her story was revealed, it would never satisfy the general fandom, because they had built up such a varied collection of perceptions of Ursa that the majority would inevitably have their "head canon" contradicted. And we all know how nerds can get when you contradict their headcanons! ;)

In October 2013, the finale of The Search- the ATLA comic series that revealed both Ursa's history and fate- was published. Inevitably, there was disappointment. There were also fans who were happy with what they got. In my own experience, there were also a surprising number of people who had no opinion of the actual story, but who were simply glad that a story about Ursa had been told, officially, and they could at last move on from wondering.

I myself was among those disappointed by the story, but that's not what I wanted to discuss here. Unlike The Promise, The Searchwas a coherent tale, but rushed and unfocused, never mind that stupid cliffhanger about Zuko's parentage that eclipsed almost all worthwhile discussion about the story. More than anything, though, I wish I could just be satisfied that Ursa's tale has been told, but I'm not.

That's because I don't feel that Ursa's story has been told.

We got a story about a character named Ursa, but she was not the Ursa we saw so briefly in the ATLA cartoon.

She was a second Ursa.

People have expressed interest in why I feel this way, so I've typed up my thoughts here. Most of this essay is copied from a post I made on the AvatarSpirit.net forums, but I've adapted it to stand alone outside of the wider discussion. (Naturally, spoilers for The Search follow.)