Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV Series)

Bitter Work (2006)

Dante Basco: Prince Zuko

Photos 

Quotes 

• [last lines] 

  Prince Zuko : [shouting out at skies during a thunderstorm]  You've always thrown everything you could at me. Well, I can take it! And now I can give it back! Come on! Strike me! You've never held back before!

  [pause before he falls to his knees and breaks down in tears] 

• Prince Zuko : But I don't feel any shame at all. I'm as proud as ever.

  Uncle Iroh : Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame.

  Prince Zuko : Well, my life has nothing but humbling lately.

• Uncle Iroh : [Draws Fire symbol in the dirt]  Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will and the energy and drive to achieve what they want.

  Uncle Iroh : [Draws Earth symbol]  Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring.

  Uncle Iroh : [Draws Air symbol]  Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor.

  Uncle Iroh : [Draws Water symbol]  Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.

  Prince Zuko : Why are you telling me these things?

  Uncle Iroh : [Draws straight lines separating the four symbols]  It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it become rigid and stale.

  Uncle Iroh : [Draws a circle around all four symbols]  Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations, will help you become whole.

  Prince Zuko : All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff.

  Uncle Iroh : It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful, too.

• Prince Zuko : So, Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say, she's my sister, and I should be trying to get along with her.

  Uncle : No. She's crazy, and she needs to go down.

• Uncle Iroh : Lightning is a pure expression of Firebending without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other Firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind.

  Prince Zuko : I see. That's why we're drinking tea, to calm the mind.

  Uncle Iroh : Oh, yeah, good point. I mean, yes.

• Uncle Iroh : There is energy all around us. The energy is both Yin and Yang, positive energy and negative energy.

  [He holds up one finger on each hand to stand for the two forms of energy] 

  Uncle Iroh : Only a select few Firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in the moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together...

  [He brings his hands together to illustrate the point] 

  Uncle Iroh : ...you provide release and guidance, creating lightning.

  [Shows Zuko] 

  Prince Zuko : I'm ready to try it.

  Uncle Iroh : Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it, you are simply its humble guide. Breathe first.

• Prince Zuko : Uncle. You were unconscious. Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack.

  Uncle Iroh : Somehow, that's not so surprising.