The Way Love Should Be: Mai/Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Part 2
Title: The Way Love Should Be
Author: jill_rg
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Mai/Zuko
Spoilers: Up to and including Episode 3-15, "The Boiling Rock"
Notes: LJ hates me
Read Part 1 here.
The Way Love Should Be
The Mai/Zuko Manifesto
Part 2
Too Good To Last
One of the most Maiko concentrated episodes of the series is ep. 49 Nightmares and Daydreams. If Zuko was dissatisfied with palace life before, he has become completely jaded about it now. He’s bored with the servants who follow him around waiting on him hand and foot, and he’s wearied of the squealing fangirls waiting for him when he leaves the palace. Where does he go to seek solace? To the one person who could understand. We now learn that the prince’s girlfriend lives in her own house right on the palace grounds, where we see her eagerly waiting on the steps for her boyfriend to come calling.
Zuko spends most of the episode (and most likely most of his time back in Fire Nation) at Mai’s house. He may not enjoy the routine and lavishness of palace life, but he sure enjoys lying on his girlfriend’s couch with her in his arms.
In this particular scene, Zuko gets rid of the servants by sending them to fetch a fruit tart for his lady (“with rose petals on top”). The camera likewise zooms out (perhaps they were about to need some privacy?), until Mai accidentally kills the mood by mentioning “that all day war meeting coming up.” Zuko is instantly depressed to learn he hasn’t been invited.
And he remains depressed for the next few days, which he continues to spend with Mai. Mai tries to cheer him up, but cheering up Zuko would not be an easy job for anybody. Besides, when Zuko’s unhappy, she’s unhappy.
Despite his refusal to talk about the war meeting, Zuko chooses to brood at Mai’s house rather than on his own. In fact, the camera leaves them looking out her window at the palace late at night... When we rejoin them the next morning, he's still there… with a very disheveled head of hair…
We have little time to ponder the implications of this, however, before a messenger arrives to summon Prince Zuko to the Fire Lord’s meeting (Apparently, Azula wasn’t lying when she said he didn’t need to be invited because it was so obvious he should be there.) Mai’s mood lifts as soon as her beloved Zuko’s does.
Near the end of the episode, when Zuko leaves the meeting, Mai is waiting for him and asking for details. In a monotone, the prince recounts how everyone present respected him and how his father wanted him to sit at his right hand. Mai throws her arms around him, expecting him to be happy, but...
He isn’t. Zuko has finally been forced to face the hard, painful truth he’s been denying ever since he joined Azula in Ba Sing Se. Put in the same situation that got him scarred and dishonored over 3 years ago has made it too clear for him: “During the meeting, I was the perfect prince. The son my father wanted. But I wasn’t me.”
Everything Zuko has striven for in the past 3 years - his father’s love, his honor, his throne - all the reasons he betrayed his uncle and joined Azula back in Ba Sing Se… that was what the old Zuko wanted. He finally realizes that he will never be happy with it because he has changed. He no longer believes in what the Fire Nation is doing, and he no longer wants his father’s approval. In his mind, he has already changed sides. All he has to do to make it official is to act on it.
It is a law of nature that whenever life seems to be perfect, things can be expected to suddenly head south. Mai’s and Zuko’s relationship is no exception. At this point, they have been happier and closer than ever before. They rely on each other for strength and support. Zuko confides in her, and she listens and sympathizes. It was too perfect. Things had to change, and Zuko will have to be the one to ruin everything.
Sacrifices
With his eyes opened to the truth about himself, Zuko decides to act in eps. 50 and 51 The Day of Black Sun. On the day of the solar eclipse, he prepares to leave the palace. He knows what he has to do: join the Avatar and prepare him to defeat Fire Lord Ozai once and for all. It should be an easy decision. After all, what will he miss? Not his father, not the pomp and pleasure of palace life, not the glory and respect of his people; he believes ending the war and bringing about peace is what is best for his own country as well as the world. He knows he is doing the right thing, and he won’t miss anything he leaves behind.
No, it would be too easy if there wasn’t one thing he regretted leaving behind, one thing he would miss, one thing he cared about:
Zuko doesn’t say good-bye to Mai in person. Maybe he feared it would be too painful. Maybe he thought it would weaken his resolve. Maybe he feared she would go woman scorned on him, like Aeneas of The Aeneid when he had to leave Queen Dido for similar reasons. Instead, as a last task before he goes to confront his father, he writes her a farewell letter and leaves it on her bed, sadly whispering, “I’m sorry, Mai.”
Zuko explains himself in ep. 54 The Boiling Rock Part 1: “Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I’m a traitor. I couldn’t drag her into it.” In spite of his new allegiance, Zuko still loves Mai. Outside the fourth wall, we see he has to leave her as a test; it has to cause him pain to leave her behind so his decision will mean something. His feelings for Mai make his decision in The Day of Black Sun all the more heroic. From Zuko’s point of view, however, he only thinks of protecting her. He has no reason to believe she is anything but loyal to the Fire Nation, and he will not burden her with becoming a traitor, too. If he has to leave her to protect her, then so be it. Spider-man did the same thing for Mary Jane in his first film. Harry Potter did the same for Ginny in The Half-Blood Prince.
As you may already know, neither of those love interests took that lying down. Neither will Mai.
Mai gets her chance to match Zuko’s sacrifice in the two-parter The Boiling Rock. The Boiling Rock is Avatar’s version of Alcatraz, the local impenetrable, inescapable prison reserved only for the most dangerous and important prisoners. Avatar Aang’s friend, Sokka, blames himself for the invasion failing on the Day of Black Sun and wants to redeem himself by freeing his father and their other captured allies. Where else could they be held but the Boiling Rock? Zuko, who by now has joined the Avatar’s team and been more or less accepted, forces Sokka to take him along.
The boys quickly run into some problems at the Boiling Rock. They manage to sneak in and disguise themselves as guards, but Zuko has to blow his cover to stop a guard from catching Sokka making out with a prisoner (his girlfriend, Suki, taken prisoner in Episode 26). He then makes the joyful discovery that the prison warden is none other than Mai’s uncle, who recognizes him and is none too happy about how he “broke [his] niece’s heart.” Oh, well, Zuko concluded long before today that the universe goes out of its way to personally make him miserable.
Sokka finds his father, but circumstances prevent the group from escaping for another day, giving the warden time to send word to Mai that he has her boyfriend and giving Mai time to fly a zeppelin to the prison. While Sokka and his father are planning the escape, Zuko is taken to an interrogation room where a livid Mai is waiting for him.
The scene is all the more tense because you can sense the hurt and anger Mai is feeling even as she keeps it under control. She contains her rage when she calls Zuko on his method of breaking the news to her (“All I get is a letter? You could have at least looked me in the eye when you ripped out my heart.”) She’s calm enough to be mocking and sarcastic.
Zuko: How did you know I was here?
Mai: Because I know you so well.
Zuko: But, how…
Mai: The warden’s my uncle, you idiot.
Zuko doesn’t even try to defend himself. He has absolutely no social skills, after all (notice how he misses the sarcasm). All he can try to say is that he didn’t want to hurt her, but Mai won’t let him get a word in. How could he not possibly think this would hurt her? Zuko finally begins to get angry and try to make her see there are bigger things at stake than just the two of them.
Zuko: This isn’t about you! This is about the Fire Nation!
Mai: Thanks, Zuko. That makes me feel all better.
Zuko maintains his position that he doesn’t like hurting her anymore than she likes being hurt, but he has no choice (“I have to do this to save my country.”) Mai, naturally, sees his actions as betraying his country, and that’s the end of the conversation we get to see.
It’s such a pity they love each other so much, or this wouldn’t mean so much to them and drive them both so crazy. It’s also a pity they have to be on opposite sides of the war, at least for this moment, for it’s impossible for them to be together if neither of them budges on their position. As much as they love each other, as much as Zuko hated to leave Mai, as much Mai hates losing Zuko, there is more at stake than the two of them. How right you were, Mr. Shakespeare; the course of true love never did run smooth.
What Antony and Cleopatra do for the remainder of their time in the interrogation room, we will never know. Sokka and the rest of the group manage to start a prison riot as their distraction, and time is running out for Zuko to get to the yard and join them, but he doesn’t fight his way free past Mai. The two of them are standing there in silence when the warden sends a guard to protect his niece, giving Zuko the perfect window to escape. He shoots some fire, prompting the guard to jump in front of Mai. Zuko runs for it, and Mai tosses the guard aside and follows suit, but she’s too late to stop him. Zuko reaches the door first and locks her in so she can’t stop him. Not that she needs to - he stands there staring into her eyes, both of them possibly on the verge of tearing up. She continues looking after him when he finally runs off.
Against all odds, the escape attempt goes almost smoothly. Suki kidnaps the warden who they use as a hostage to commandeer the cable car to get out of the prison. After starting it up, Zuko breaks the lever so they can’t stop the gondola before jumping on with the others at the last minute. The kids still have to go topside and battle with Azula and Ty Lee. In their absence, the warden breaks free from his gag and bindings and shouts for the guards to cut the cable, even though it means he’ll fall to his death along with the prisoners into the boiling lake below.
The guards stop the gondola with two huge metal wedges. Azula and Ty Lee jump to the second gondola and ride back down to safety as they cut the escapee’s cable. The kids get back inside, and Zuko yells that the gondola’s about to go. This is it. Nothing can save them now!
The viewers, the escapees, and the guards are in for quite a surprise.
“What are you doing?”
“Saving the jerk who dumped me.”
Zuko may be a stubborn idiot with no tact, but that doesn’t mean Mai will let him die. This isn’t some misunderstanding or political disagreement anymore; this is about his life, and that’s a whole other story. Zuko did the right thing, and now, so does Mai, by using every guard in sight for target practice.
After the coast is clear, Mai frees the cable, and the gondola starts moving again. Sokka looks down at the prison and asks in amazement, “Who is that?!” Zuko stares in disbelief as Mai continues to pin guards from every angle with her knives and stilettos, ensuring their escape.
Once the group is safely outside the prison, Zuko lags behind, turns around, stands still, and stares at it before Sokka asks what he’s doing!
Little doubt what must be on his mind. But just because they’re on the same side now doesn’t mean they can be together yet. If Zuko tried something foolhardy like going back for Mai, her sacrifice would be in vain. So all he says is that if his sister and her friends, had to come here, they must have transportation somewhere. Right now, he has to remain calm and focused like Mai would and help everyone make their getaway, which they make with the help of Azula’s zeppelin.
Mai’s side of the story isn’t over yet, though. Azula faces her back at the prison, dumbfounded that she would do such a thing.
Azula: I never expected this from you.
That’s what she said. Azula - the genius, the “people person,” the master of mental and emotional manipulation, knower of all strengths and weaknesses and secrets - never expected this.
Azula: The thing I don’t understand is why? Why would you do it? You know the consequences.
A sociopath cannot understand the concept of love. She cannot fathom how Mai could sacrifice her own freedom, even her life, for another’s, how someone could care more about someone else than herself. And she does not like the answer.
Mai: I guess you just don’t know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you.
All of the times Mai has unquestionably obeyed Azula - joining her in Omashu, backing out of a hostage trade for her little brother, leaving Zuko on the mountainside when she wanted to talk to him alone - those were minor things, all to lure Azula into a false sense of security about her loyalty. And Azula, the devious mastermind who has never been wrong about anything, fell for it.
This is a true demonstration of the power of love.
Mai Is Zuko's Goddess
"Red with the fire of life... The paragon of all paragons of beauty, the reply to all desire, the bliss-bestowing goal of every hero's earthly and unearthly quest." ~ Joseph Campbell, The Hero With A Thousand Faces
The Goddess is one of the most important characters a hero will encounter on "The Hero's Journey," a pattern that can be seen in many if not all heroic tales from the ancient Greek myths to Star Wars. The role of the Goddess is more than a love interest; she is a powerful force in the hero's life and represents the fulfillment of all his desires. She can be a protective force who holds the power he needs to achieve his quest. When he falls, she will save him. When he succeeds, she will reward him. According to Campbell, she represents the totality of what can known, and "the hero is the one who comes to know." (For the sake of simplicity, we'll set aside flipped gender roles, which are not a modern notion, for now.)
Aang, Avatar's hero, has his Goddess figure in Katara. Protective and motherly, Katara lifts Aang back up when he's down and watches over him as he proceeds on his journey. Caring for people is in Katara's nature, so much so that she tries to be Zuko's Goddess, too, in the second season finale. The two bond when they are both taken prisoner by Azula. This is Zuko's first opportunity for redemption, and Katara is the instigator of it when she offers to use water from a magic oasis to heal his scar. Alas, a Goddess can only bind herself to one hero, and when Aang bursts onto the scene, Katara turns her back on Zuko and runs into Aang's arms.
Zuko's true Goddess figure does not offer to heal his scar. She does not pity him for his scar but loves him in spite of it. The only girl who can help heal Zuko's wounded heart is Mai, and she accepts the job wholeheartedly. Mai is as forever loyal and hopelessly devoted to Zuko as Katara is to Aang, as any Goddess should be. She gives Zuko the love and peace and joy he has never known before.
Mai truly shines as Zuko's Goddess, though, when she saves him at the Boiling Rock. This is another parallel with Aang's heroic journey, as Katara previously saved Aang from dying in Ba Sing Se. Their love enables Zuko to proceed on his quest, and whne it's over, she will be waiting for him.
Some heroes, unfortunately, do not want to wait. If heroes are ever delayed on their journey, the Goddess is sometimes responsible. He becomes content to remain in bliss with her instead of persevering ahead on his mission. The hero must set aside his happiness with the Goddess until he achieves his goal; Zuko must leave Mai behind in the Fire Nation to fulfill his destiny.
The Goddess Versus The Temptress
The benevolent Goddess, however, is not the only female figure who can delay the hero on his journey. There is a malevolent female figure lurking on The Hero's Journey -- The Temptress, "the queen of sin," who offers everything the Goddess can give but at a price. Accepting her pleasure paves the road to self-destruction. She does not lead the hero further down his journey but away from it.
Azula makes herself known as Zuko's Temptress in the second season finale when she promises him everything he dreams of if he comes to her.
Azula: I need you, Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have father's love. You will have everything you want.
She succeeds -- for now.
Mai further lives up to her role when she opposes the Temptress. Azula wants to destroy Zuko, but Mai does not let that happen. Zuko and Azula battle in The Boiling Rock, and she thinks he will be killed, but he is saved by Mai. Mai's protective force proves to be more powerful than Azula's destructive force. Azula brings Zuko the curse of spiritual death; Mai gives him the gift of life.
Zuko needs Mai.
Something For Everyone
What do you look for in a ship? This ship has it.
- The charm of childhood crushes evolved into a mature romance.
- The beauty of two people who are so in love with each other, it consumes their world but without them turning insane and reckless.
- The tragedy of two lovers with conflicting loyalties (Zuko’s to the Avatar and Mai’s to the Fire Nation).
- The subtleties. Mai usually expresses herself through what she does, not what she says; the meaning of a scene is located in her body language, expressions, and actions, not her dialogue (in the look she gives Azula as she grudgingly obeys her order, in the kiss she gives Zuko when he’s consumed with worry).
- The realism. It doesn't look like a typical fabricated cartoon romance. It's not written like a fictional romance but a real one. Other couples on Avatar can play the will-it-or-won’t-it-ever-happen game; these two are absolutely together, and the whole world must know it! When you think about it, do real couples want to blush and wave and keep their feelings secret and avoid getting together as long as possible? No, the fun part is what comes after all that awkward foreplay. Zuko and Mai, because they knew each other before the point where the series starts, and got together in a magazine in-between seasons, get right to the heat and intensity of their relationship. Not many couples get to be this free and open and sure of their feelings for each other.
- And most couples in American children’s animation certainly don’t get to be so physical. Zuko and Mai can’t keep their hands, let alone their lips, to themselves for a whole scene (except when they’re fighting, which indicates the gravity of the fight). They’re always leaning against each other, throwing their arms around each other, or making out. This allows shippers’ imaginations to run wild about what they do off-camera, if you know what I mean.
- The conventions of courtly love. Zuko is the Crowned Prince; Mai is a governor’s daughter. He calls on her at her home on the palace grounds, and she accompanies him on vacation. They have a portrait of the two of them like royal couples throughout history.
- Their chemistry. “Opposites attract,” but Zuko and Mai are more than simply opposite personalities. They also have certain points in common (their skills with swords and knives, their boredom with courtly rituals, their love of quiet and solitude, rough childhoods and grave responsibilities) that allow them to bond over their opposites. They're temper and calm do not just oppose each other; they compliment each other. They complete each other. They rub off on each other and push one another to conquer their flaws. They have perfect chemistry in the fullest sense of the metaphor.
- And yet, not a perfect relationship, for there are complications, especially after Zuko changes sides. Just complicated enough to never become boring.
- The positive changes the relationship reaps for the two of them. Zuko finds a peer he can confide in and lean on and who encourages him to give up his tendency to angst and brood. Mai finds someone who gives her a reason to smile and laugh and enjoy life. Mai is everything Zuko needs, and Zuko is everything Mai wants. It’s a perfect match.
You don't know what it's like
when nothing feels all right.
You don't know what it's like
to be like me-e-e-e-e:
To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked
when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down,
and no one's there to save you.
No, you don't know what it's like...
Welcome to my life!
~ “Welcome to my Life,” Simple Plan
+
I need to be with myself and center
Clarity
Peace
Serenity
I hope you know
I hope you know
that this has nothing to do with you.
It's personal, myself and I-I-I-I,
we've got some straightening out to do.
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses her blanket,
but I've got to get a move on with my life.
It's time to be a big girl now...
And big girls don't cry.
~ “Big Girls Don't Cry,” Fergie
=
Now that Mai is a prisoner of the Fire Nation and Zuko is back with Aang and the Gang, who knows what the future holds for them? Just more for the shippers to speculate about and create fan works based on until the series finale airs. This ship is a goldmine for creativity.
Below are some examples of that.
Fan Fiction
Drawn by Lover of the Flame ("If they touched, would she be burned by the flame within him? She wants to find out.") Rated T
The Flying Hours by Rawles ("Then talk not of inconstancy, false hearts, and broken vows.") Rated R
Imperfect by Ali_Wildgoose ("It's been years since Mai and Zuko last met, and many things have changed...some more so than others, and none in the way she expected.") Rated T
Last Days of Silence by Ali_Wildgoose ("Essentially a lost scene from The Boiling Rock") Rated PG-13
Reign Within by Rawles ("She knows that she was not the reason. Not nearly. Her mother has merely ensured that she is one of the benefits.") Rated R
Tea At Sea by n1t3sama ("After Ba Sing Se, on a ship back to the fire nation, Mai observes Prince Zuko.") Rated K
Fan Art
See Under The Apple Tree, a collection at DeviantArt of submitted Mai/Zuko fan art
Fan Vids (I am submitting my own, but if anyone knows of any others they are particularly fond of, please recommend them, and I will add them.)
I'm Only Me When I'm With You by Taylor Swift
It Will Be Me by Faith Hill
Say Anything, Say Anything by Good Charlotte
What Hurts the Most by Cascada
Online Communities
Flaming Knives: The Maiko Forum
Zuko Is Mai's Boyfriend: The Mai/Zuko Shipper Community
Capslock Maiko
Sickfish: Zuko Hearts Mai And Other True Facts
Screenshots are courtesy of iroh.org. Quotes are taken from the episodes themselves. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters are owned by Nickelodeon and Viacom.
Author: jill_rg
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Mai/Zuko
Spoilers: Up to and including Episode 3-15, "The Boiling Rock"
Notes: LJ hates me
Read Part 1 here.
The Way Love Should Be
The Mai/Zuko Manifesto
Part 2
Too Good To Last
One of the most Maiko concentrated episodes of the series is ep. 49 Nightmares and Daydreams. If Zuko was dissatisfied with palace life before, he has become completely jaded about it now. He’s bored with the servants who follow him around waiting on him hand and foot, and he’s wearied of the squealing fangirls waiting for him when he leaves the palace. Where does he go to seek solace? To the one person who could understand. We now learn that the prince’s girlfriend lives in her own house right on the palace grounds, where we see her eagerly waiting on the steps for her boyfriend to come calling.
Zuko spends most of the episode (and most likely most of his time back in Fire Nation) at Mai’s house. He may not enjoy the routine and lavishness of palace life, but he sure enjoys lying on his girlfriend’s couch with her in his arms.
In this particular scene, Zuko gets rid of the servants by sending them to fetch a fruit tart for his lady (“with rose petals on top”). The camera likewise zooms out (perhaps they were about to need some privacy?), until Mai accidentally kills the mood by mentioning “that all day war meeting coming up.” Zuko is instantly depressed to learn he hasn’t been invited.
And he remains depressed for the next few days, which he continues to spend with Mai. Mai tries to cheer him up, but cheering up Zuko would not be an easy job for anybody. Besides, when Zuko’s unhappy, she’s unhappy.
Despite his refusal to talk about the war meeting, Zuko chooses to brood at Mai’s house rather than on his own. In fact, the camera leaves them looking out her window at the palace late at night... When we rejoin them the next morning, he's still there… with a very disheveled head of hair…
We have little time to ponder the implications of this, however, before a messenger arrives to summon Prince Zuko to the Fire Lord’s meeting (Apparently, Azula wasn’t lying when she said he didn’t need to be invited because it was so obvious he should be there.) Mai’s mood lifts as soon as her beloved Zuko’s does.
Near the end of the episode, when Zuko leaves the meeting, Mai is waiting for him and asking for details. In a monotone, the prince recounts how everyone present respected him and how his father wanted him to sit at his right hand. Mai throws her arms around him, expecting him to be happy, but...
He isn’t. Zuko has finally been forced to face the hard, painful truth he’s been denying ever since he joined Azula in Ba Sing Se. Put in the same situation that got him scarred and dishonored over 3 years ago has made it too clear for him: “During the meeting, I was the perfect prince. The son my father wanted. But I wasn’t me.”
Everything Zuko has striven for in the past 3 years - his father’s love, his honor, his throne - all the reasons he betrayed his uncle and joined Azula back in Ba Sing Se… that was what the old Zuko wanted. He finally realizes that he will never be happy with it because he has changed. He no longer believes in what the Fire Nation is doing, and he no longer wants his father’s approval. In his mind, he has already changed sides. All he has to do to make it official is to act on it.
It is a law of nature that whenever life seems to be perfect, things can be expected to suddenly head south. Mai’s and Zuko’s relationship is no exception. At this point, they have been happier and closer than ever before. They rely on each other for strength and support. Zuko confides in her, and she listens and sympathizes. It was too perfect. Things had to change, and Zuko will have to be the one to ruin everything.
Sacrifices
With his eyes opened to the truth about himself, Zuko decides to act in eps. 50 and 51 The Day of Black Sun. On the day of the solar eclipse, he prepares to leave the palace. He knows what he has to do: join the Avatar and prepare him to defeat Fire Lord Ozai once and for all. It should be an easy decision. After all, what will he miss? Not his father, not the pomp and pleasure of palace life, not the glory and respect of his people; he believes ending the war and bringing about peace is what is best for his own country as well as the world. He knows he is doing the right thing, and he won’t miss anything he leaves behind.
No, it would be too easy if there wasn’t one thing he regretted leaving behind, one thing he would miss, one thing he cared about:
Zuko doesn’t say good-bye to Mai in person. Maybe he feared it would be too painful. Maybe he thought it would weaken his resolve. Maybe he feared she would go woman scorned on him, like Aeneas of The Aeneid when he had to leave Queen Dido for similar reasons. Instead, as a last task before he goes to confront his father, he writes her a farewell letter and leaves it on her bed, sadly whispering, “I’m sorry, Mai.”
Zuko explains himself in ep. 54 The Boiling Rock Part 1: “Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I’m a traitor. I couldn’t drag her into it.” In spite of his new allegiance, Zuko still loves Mai. Outside the fourth wall, we see he has to leave her as a test; it has to cause him pain to leave her behind so his decision will mean something. His feelings for Mai make his decision in The Day of Black Sun all the more heroic. From Zuko’s point of view, however, he only thinks of protecting her. He has no reason to believe she is anything but loyal to the Fire Nation, and he will not burden her with becoming a traitor, too. If he has to leave her to protect her, then so be it. Spider-man did the same thing for Mary Jane in his first film. Harry Potter did the same for Ginny in The Half-Blood Prince.
As you may already know, neither of those love interests took that lying down. Neither will Mai.
Mai gets her chance to match Zuko’s sacrifice in the two-parter The Boiling Rock. The Boiling Rock is Avatar’s version of Alcatraz, the local impenetrable, inescapable prison reserved only for the most dangerous and important prisoners. Avatar Aang’s friend, Sokka, blames himself for the invasion failing on the Day of Black Sun and wants to redeem himself by freeing his father and their other captured allies. Where else could they be held but the Boiling Rock? Zuko, who by now has joined the Avatar’s team and been more or less accepted, forces Sokka to take him along.
The boys quickly run into some problems at the Boiling Rock. They manage to sneak in and disguise themselves as guards, but Zuko has to blow his cover to stop a guard from catching Sokka making out with a prisoner (his girlfriend, Suki, taken prisoner in Episode 26). He then makes the joyful discovery that the prison warden is none other than Mai’s uncle, who recognizes him and is none too happy about how he “broke [his] niece’s heart.” Oh, well, Zuko concluded long before today that the universe goes out of its way to personally make him miserable.
Sokka finds his father, but circumstances prevent the group from escaping for another day, giving the warden time to send word to Mai that he has her boyfriend and giving Mai time to fly a zeppelin to the prison. While Sokka and his father are planning the escape, Zuko is taken to an interrogation room where a livid Mai is waiting for him.
The scene is all the more tense because you can sense the hurt and anger Mai is feeling even as she keeps it under control. She contains her rage when she calls Zuko on his method of breaking the news to her (“All I get is a letter? You could have at least looked me in the eye when you ripped out my heart.”) She’s calm enough to be mocking and sarcastic.
Zuko: How did you know I was here?
Mai: Because I know you so well.
Zuko: But, how…
Mai: The warden’s my uncle, you idiot.
Zuko doesn’t even try to defend himself. He has absolutely no social skills, after all (notice how he misses the sarcasm). All he can try to say is that he didn’t want to hurt her, but Mai won’t let him get a word in. How could he not possibly think this would hurt her? Zuko finally begins to get angry and try to make her see there are bigger things at stake than just the two of them.
Zuko: This isn’t about you! This is about the Fire Nation!
Mai: Thanks, Zuko. That makes me feel all better.
Zuko maintains his position that he doesn’t like hurting her anymore than she likes being hurt, but he has no choice (“I have to do this to save my country.”) Mai, naturally, sees his actions as betraying his country, and that’s the end of the conversation we get to see.
It’s such a pity they love each other so much, or this wouldn’t mean so much to them and drive them both so crazy. It’s also a pity they have to be on opposite sides of the war, at least for this moment, for it’s impossible for them to be together if neither of them budges on their position. As much as they love each other, as much as Zuko hated to leave Mai, as much Mai hates losing Zuko, there is more at stake than the two of them. How right you were, Mr. Shakespeare; the course of true love never did run smooth.
What Antony and Cleopatra do for the remainder of their time in the interrogation room, we will never know. Sokka and the rest of the group manage to start a prison riot as their distraction, and time is running out for Zuko to get to the yard and join them, but he doesn’t fight his way free past Mai. The two of them are standing there in silence when the warden sends a guard to protect his niece, giving Zuko the perfect window to escape. He shoots some fire, prompting the guard to jump in front of Mai. Zuko runs for it, and Mai tosses the guard aside and follows suit, but she’s too late to stop him. Zuko reaches the door first and locks her in so she can’t stop him. Not that she needs to - he stands there staring into her eyes, both of them possibly on the verge of tearing up. She continues looking after him when he finally runs off.
Against all odds, the escape attempt goes almost smoothly. Suki kidnaps the warden who they use as a hostage to commandeer the cable car to get out of the prison. After starting it up, Zuko breaks the lever so they can’t stop the gondola before jumping on with the others at the last minute. The kids still have to go topside and battle with Azula and Ty Lee. In their absence, the warden breaks free from his gag and bindings and shouts for the guards to cut the cable, even though it means he’ll fall to his death along with the prisoners into the boiling lake below.
The guards stop the gondola with two huge metal wedges. Azula and Ty Lee jump to the second gondola and ride back down to safety as they cut the escapee’s cable. The kids get back inside, and Zuko yells that the gondola’s about to go. This is it. Nothing can save them now!
The viewers, the escapees, and the guards are in for quite a surprise.
“What are you doing?”
“Saving the jerk who dumped me.”
Zuko may be a stubborn idiot with no tact, but that doesn’t mean Mai will let him die. This isn’t some misunderstanding or political disagreement anymore; this is about his life, and that’s a whole other story. Zuko did the right thing, and now, so does Mai, by using every guard in sight for target practice.
After the coast is clear, Mai frees the cable, and the gondola starts moving again. Sokka looks down at the prison and asks in amazement, “Who is that?!” Zuko stares in disbelief as Mai continues to pin guards from every angle with her knives and stilettos, ensuring their escape.
Once the group is safely outside the prison, Zuko lags behind, turns around, stands still, and stares at it before Sokka asks what he’s doing!
Little doubt what must be on his mind. But just because they’re on the same side now doesn’t mean they can be together yet. If Zuko tried something foolhardy like going back for Mai, her sacrifice would be in vain. So all he says is that if his sister and her friends, had to come here, they must have transportation somewhere. Right now, he has to remain calm and focused like Mai would and help everyone make their getaway, which they make with the help of Azula’s zeppelin.
Mai’s side of the story isn’t over yet, though. Azula faces her back at the prison, dumbfounded that she would do such a thing.
Azula: I never expected this from you.
That’s what she said. Azula - the genius, the “people person,” the master of mental and emotional manipulation, knower of all strengths and weaknesses and secrets - never expected this.
Azula: The thing I don’t understand is why? Why would you do it? You know the consequences.
A sociopath cannot understand the concept of love. She cannot fathom how Mai could sacrifice her own freedom, even her life, for another’s, how someone could care more about someone else than herself. And she does not like the answer.
Mai: I guess you just don’t know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you.
All of the times Mai has unquestionably obeyed Azula - joining her in Omashu, backing out of a hostage trade for her little brother, leaving Zuko on the mountainside when she wanted to talk to him alone - those were minor things, all to lure Azula into a false sense of security about her loyalty. And Azula, the devious mastermind who has never been wrong about anything, fell for it.
This is a true demonstration of the power of love.
Mai Is Zuko's Goddess
"Red with the fire of life... The paragon of all paragons of beauty, the reply to all desire, the bliss-bestowing goal of every hero's earthly and unearthly quest." ~ Joseph Campbell, The Hero With A Thousand Faces
The Goddess is one of the most important characters a hero will encounter on "The Hero's Journey," a pattern that can be seen in many if not all heroic tales from the ancient Greek myths to Star Wars. The role of the Goddess is more than a love interest; she is a powerful force in the hero's life and represents the fulfillment of all his desires. She can be a protective force who holds the power he needs to achieve his quest. When he falls, she will save him. When he succeeds, she will reward him. According to Campbell, she represents the totality of what can known, and "the hero is the one who comes to know." (For the sake of simplicity, we'll set aside flipped gender roles, which are not a modern notion, for now.)
Aang, Avatar's hero, has his Goddess figure in Katara. Protective and motherly, Katara lifts Aang back up when he's down and watches over him as he proceeds on his journey. Caring for people is in Katara's nature, so much so that she tries to be Zuko's Goddess, too, in the second season finale. The two bond when they are both taken prisoner by Azula. This is Zuko's first opportunity for redemption, and Katara is the instigator of it when she offers to use water from a magic oasis to heal his scar. Alas, a Goddess can only bind herself to one hero, and when Aang bursts onto the scene, Katara turns her back on Zuko and runs into Aang's arms.
Zuko's true Goddess figure does not offer to heal his scar. She does not pity him for his scar but loves him in spite of it. The only girl who can help heal Zuko's wounded heart is Mai, and she accepts the job wholeheartedly. Mai is as forever loyal and hopelessly devoted to Zuko as Katara is to Aang, as any Goddess should be. She gives Zuko the love and peace and joy he has never known before.
Mai truly shines as Zuko's Goddess, though, when she saves him at the Boiling Rock. This is another parallel with Aang's heroic journey, as Katara previously saved Aang from dying in Ba Sing Se. Their love enables Zuko to proceed on his quest, and whne it's over, she will be waiting for him.
Some heroes, unfortunately, do not want to wait. If heroes are ever delayed on their journey, the Goddess is sometimes responsible. He becomes content to remain in bliss with her instead of persevering ahead on his mission. The hero must set aside his happiness with the Goddess until he achieves his goal; Zuko must leave Mai behind in the Fire Nation to fulfill his destiny.
The Goddess Versus The Temptress
The benevolent Goddess, however, is not the only female figure who can delay the hero on his journey. There is a malevolent female figure lurking on The Hero's Journey -- The Temptress, "the queen of sin," who offers everything the Goddess can give but at a price. Accepting her pleasure paves the road to self-destruction. She does not lead the hero further down his journey but away from it.
Azula makes herself known as Zuko's Temptress in the second season finale when she promises him everything he dreams of if he comes to her.
Azula: I need you, Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have father's love. You will have everything you want.
She succeeds -- for now.
Mai further lives up to her role when she opposes the Temptress. Azula wants to destroy Zuko, but Mai does not let that happen. Zuko and Azula battle in The Boiling Rock, and she thinks he will be killed, but he is saved by Mai. Mai's protective force proves to be more powerful than Azula's destructive force. Azula brings Zuko the curse of spiritual death; Mai gives him the gift of life.
Zuko needs Mai.
Something For Everyone
What do you look for in a ship? This ship has it.
- The charm of childhood crushes evolved into a mature romance.
- The beauty of two people who are so in love with each other, it consumes their world but without them turning insane and reckless.
- The tragedy of two lovers with conflicting loyalties (Zuko’s to the Avatar and Mai’s to the Fire Nation).
- The subtleties. Mai usually expresses herself through what she does, not what she says; the meaning of a scene is located in her body language, expressions, and actions, not her dialogue (in the look she gives Azula as she grudgingly obeys her order, in the kiss she gives Zuko when he’s consumed with worry).
- The realism. It doesn't look like a typical fabricated cartoon romance. It's not written like a fictional romance but a real one. Other couples on Avatar can play the will-it-or-won’t-it-ever-happen game; these two are absolutely together, and the whole world must know it! When you think about it, do real couples want to blush and wave and keep their feelings secret and avoid getting together as long as possible? No, the fun part is what comes after all that awkward foreplay. Zuko and Mai, because they knew each other before the point where the series starts, and got together in a magazine in-between seasons, get right to the heat and intensity of their relationship. Not many couples get to be this free and open and sure of their feelings for each other.
- And most couples in American children’s animation certainly don’t get to be so physical. Zuko and Mai can’t keep their hands, let alone their lips, to themselves for a whole scene (except when they’re fighting, which indicates the gravity of the fight). They’re always leaning against each other, throwing their arms around each other, or making out. This allows shippers’ imaginations to run wild about what they do off-camera, if you know what I mean.
- The conventions of courtly love. Zuko is the Crowned Prince; Mai is a governor’s daughter. He calls on her at her home on the palace grounds, and she accompanies him on vacation. They have a portrait of the two of them like royal couples throughout history.
- Their chemistry. “Opposites attract,” but Zuko and Mai are more than simply opposite personalities. They also have certain points in common (their skills with swords and knives, their boredom with courtly rituals, their love of quiet and solitude, rough childhoods and grave responsibilities) that allow them to bond over their opposites. They're temper and calm do not just oppose each other; they compliment each other. They complete each other. They rub off on each other and push one another to conquer their flaws. They have perfect chemistry in the fullest sense of the metaphor.
- And yet, not a perfect relationship, for there are complications, especially after Zuko changes sides. Just complicated enough to never become boring.
- The positive changes the relationship reaps for the two of them. Zuko finds a peer he can confide in and lean on and who encourages him to give up his tendency to angst and brood. Mai finds someone who gives her a reason to smile and laugh and enjoy life. Mai is everything Zuko needs, and Zuko is everything Mai wants. It’s a perfect match.
You don't know what it's like
when nothing feels all right.
You don't know what it's like
to be like me-e-e-e-e:
To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked
when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down,
and no one's there to save you.
No, you don't know what it's like...
Welcome to my life!
~ “Welcome to my Life,” Simple Plan
+
I need to be with myself and center
Clarity
Peace
Serenity
I hope you know
I hope you know
that this has nothing to do with you.
It's personal, myself and I-I-I-I,
we've got some straightening out to do.
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses her blanket,
but I've got to get a move on with my life.
It's time to be a big girl now...
And big girls don't cry.
~ “Big Girls Don't Cry,” Fergie
=
Now that Mai is a prisoner of the Fire Nation and Zuko is back with Aang and the Gang, who knows what the future holds for them? Just more for the shippers to speculate about and create fan works based on until the series finale airs. This ship is a goldmine for creativity.
Below are some examples of that.
Fan Fiction
Drawn by Lover of the Flame ("If they touched, would she be burned by the flame within him? She wants to find out.") Rated T
The Flying Hours by Rawles ("Then talk not of inconstancy, false hearts, and broken vows.") Rated R
Imperfect by Ali_Wildgoose ("It's been years since Mai and Zuko last met, and many things have changed...some more so than others, and none in the way she expected.") Rated T
Last Days of Silence by Ali_Wildgoose ("Essentially a lost scene from The Boiling Rock") Rated PG-13
Reign Within by Rawles ("She knows that she was not the reason. Not nearly. Her mother has merely ensured that she is one of the benefits.") Rated R
Tea At Sea by n1t3sama ("After Ba Sing Se, on a ship back to the fire nation, Mai observes Prince Zuko.") Rated K
Fan Art
See Under The Apple Tree, a collection at DeviantArt of submitted Mai/Zuko fan art
Fan Vids (I am submitting my own, but if anyone knows of any others they are particularly fond of, please recommend them, and I will add them.)
I'm Only Me When I'm With You by Taylor Swift
It Will Be Me by Faith Hill
Say Anything, Say Anything by Good Charlotte
What Hurts the Most by Cascada
Online Communities
Flaming Knives: The Maiko Forum
Zuko Is Mai's Boyfriend: The Mai/Zuko Shipper Community
Capslock Maiko
Sickfish: Zuko Hearts Mai And Other True Facts
Screenshots are courtesy of iroh.org. Quotes are taken from the episodes themselves. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters are owned by Nickelodeon and Viacom.