The Last Airbender Just Added Another Layer To Sozin’s Season 3 Betrayal

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay.

Summary

• The Reckoning of Roku
  adds further depth to Sozin’s betrayal of Roku, exploring how he’s envious of his friend’s new role.
• Sozin’s ambition and desire for recognition explain his destructive behavior in
  Avatar: The Last Airbender
  .
• The Reckoning of Roku
  offers insight into Sozin’s need to prove himself and his bitterness towards Roku.

A new Avatar: The Last Airbender book is expanding Roku’s backstory, and The Reckoning of Roku reveals another layer of Sozin’s season 3 betrayal. The novel adds more depth to one of Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s best episodes, further exploring the dynamic between Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin. As we know from the Nickelodeon series, the two are as close as brothers growing up. However, Sozin changes during their time apart, eventually choosing to begin the Hundred Year War despite Roku’s protests.

The Last Airbender season 3 doesn’t have time to delve too deeply into Sozin’s motives for beginning the Fire Nation’s conquest. However, “The Avatar and the Fire Lord” paints an image of a leader bent on obtaining more power. The Reckoning of Roku adds another intriguing layer to Sozin’s betrayal of Roku. It doesn’t justify his actions, but it explains why he grows so distant from his friend — and why he insists on leaving his mark on the world, even if it does more harm than good.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Adds Another Layer To Sozin’s Betrayal In The Reckoning Of Roku

The Novel Reveals That Sozin Wants To Be The Avatar

Sozin and Roku are both disappointed upon learning that Roku is the Avatar, but The Last Airbender makes it seem like their concerns stem from being separated. Roku must leave the Fire Nation behind while he trains for his new role, so grief is to be expected. However, The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay reveals another reason Sozin is upset by the news: he wants to be the Avatar. That’s right, the new novel adds another layer of complexity to ATLA‘s most intriguing friendship, suggesting that Sozin is envious of Roku’s new role.

The new novel adds another layer of complexity to
ATLA
‘s most intriguing friendship, suggesting that Sozin is envious of Roku’s new role.

With the Fire Nation expecting the next Avatar to emerge, likely from its own nobility, Sozin believes he could be the one chosen. His disappointment at learning Roku is the Avatar isn’t just about losing his best friend. It’s also wrapped up in the fear that his friend will surpass him, all while he remains criticized and mediocre in the eyes of his father. Sozin strives to be recognized, and that’s why he wishes to be the Avatar. The Reckoning of Roku makes sense of Sozin’s actions in The Last Airbender by adding this element to his backstory.

Sozin’s Additional Motive Makes Sense Of His Behavior In Avatar: The Last Airbender

He Still Wants To Prove Himself & Make An Impact

By giving readers Sozin’s backstory from his own perspective, The Reckoning of Roku makes sense of his behavior in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Knowing how ambitious Sozin is, it’s easy to see how he becomes a Fire Lord willing to burn down the world to impress his people. Sozin wants to make an impact on the world, and he wants to be recognized and remembered by the Fire Nation. He also wants to impress his father, and that need to prove himself likely continues beyond the former Fire Lord’s death.

If he can’t chase such ambitions as the Avatar, Sozin seems willing enough to do so as the Fire Lord — even if he leaves a path of destruction in his wake. It’s also possible that Sozin wants to make Roku’s job harder, as he’s still bitter about his friend becoming the Avatar over him. Sozin’s actions make it more difficult to maintain the balance of The Last Airbender‘s world. This may be an intentional side effect of Sozin’s conquest, though his behavior proves he could never handle Roku’s role.

Sozin’s Story In Reckoning Of Roku Proves He Could Never Have Been The Avatar

Sozin Is Too Self-Interested & Couldn’t Cut His Ties To The Fire Nation

Although Sozin desires Roku’s role in The Reckoning of Roku, his actions in the novel — and Avatar: The Last Airbender — prove he could never be the Avatar. For one, being the Avatar means letting go of one’s personal attachments. Even Roku struggles to separate his identity as a member of the Fire Nation from his identity as the Avatar, a challenge The Reckoning of Roku explores in depth. Knowing how wrapped up Sozin is in his family’s wishes, it’s safe to assume he wouldn’t be able to release his connection to the Fire Nation. This would make him a poor Avatar.

Knowing how wrapped up Sozin is in his family’s wishes, it’s safe to assume he wouldn’t be able to release his connection to the Fire Nation.

There’s also the fact that Sozin is self-interested, and that aspect of his personality leads him to destroy the balance of The Last Airbender‘s world. Knowing how capable of destruction he is, it’s hard to imagine him as an Avatar seeking peace and balance. Sozin’s values simply don’t align with this critical role, so it’s for the best that Roku becomes Aang’s predecessor ahead of Avatar: The Last Airbender.