i'm going to play devil's advocate a bit and justify him.

i think for him that was the only right choice. first, he was raised to believe a certain worldview and set of values, and it's only in the last couple months that he's really begun to realize that worldview is flawed. in addition, every decision he's made over the course of the series has either been motivated by his need for his father's affection or self-preservation. all three of the people he's faced with have tried to kill/imprison/seriously injure him at one point or another, so he's put in a life-or-death situation, panics, and falls back on what he's been raised from infancy to believe is right. plus, he has this fundamental need to be loved/wanted/accepted, and to have earned it (thank you, ursa), and he knows that need will be fullfilled if he chooses azula. he's known for three years that if he does this thing, he will be loved. azula reinforces this by flat-out telling him so. on the other hand, his entire association with the gaang, other than a brief moment during the chase, has been violent. he has no way of knowing that choosing them at this point will wipe the slate clean and give him the affection and acceptance he needs. plus (and this is my weakest argument, i know, but i have to point it out), his little sister has been cornered. whatever his flawed relationship with her, she's still his little sister. i mean, sokka would go at least as far for katara. so i think the head-bashing only really applies when you look at it from a braod perpective, under the bias we as viewers have been pushed to assume. yes, from that perspective, he fucked up. from his, though, it's not so simple.

...and that went on way longer than i planned it to. sorry XP
--eleanor

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lol... that's alright. XD I see what you're saying, but I still think the choice of Azula over his uncle was horrible. Of course, it also meant he and Mai hook up so I'm not as upset as I could be. :P

And yeah, little sister in danger would USUALLY generate a "I'll protect" response, but then again - she's outright tried to kill him for months now. But yes, Zuko probably still had some attachment as a sibling.

Meh, I still want to hit him whenever I see that though. XD

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devil's advocate again--i realized i forgot an important point.

iroh is asking him to indirectly commit parricide. i'm not sure how aware of it he is at that moment, but it's still an important point--he still loves his father, and has not yet gotten to a point where he's willing to say "yes, this man needs to die." he needs to go back and see him again, with three years of distance between them, so he's no longer the Ideal zuko built around him in childhood, in order to get to that point. and even when he reaches that point, it still bothers him (see the old masters), no matter how much he says it doesn't. again, not so simple/black-and-white. in effect, what iroh's asking him to do is more unethical, thinking on a small scale, than what azula is asking him to do.

just some thoughts i wanted to share while not paying attention in class XP

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hehehe - that's alright. ^_^

I know what you're saying... and I agree that this all worked out in the end. He realizes just how much his father DOES NOT live up to his expectations, realizes just how completely mad his sister and father are in the war room when they want to raze the Earth kingdom, comes to grips with his ancestry, and puts himself on the right path without Azula or Iroh's urging. Yes, Iroh points him toward the archives so he finds out about Roku, but other than that he was pretty passive. I know that in the long run this choice works out for the good...

but it still bothers me. :P

XD Not paying attention in class can get you in trouble... not that I have any room to talk. I got in trouble all the time for reading, drawing, or playing games during lectures. (It got to the point where me and my roomie would draw comics of our Economics 101 lectures in an attempt to stay on track. XD)

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