She choked on her sobs when she came and Zuko kissed the tears away from her cheeks and murmured promises she knew he’d die to keep.
Oh man, I love that observation of Zuko... he is the sort who would only make promises like that if he sincerely meant to keep them. The boy is so devoted (look at how long he stayed loyal to Ozai), that if that devotion turned to a girl or a woman, and if he made her promises to that regard then I think he'd be completely serious about it. It's part of his whole "I must be honorable and keep my word" thing, which makes the betrayal of Iroh so ironic because Zuko never swore loyalty to his uncle, never outright like he owed his father. He betrayed Iroh emotionally but not technically, not in the literal sense of breaking any promises. Anyway, that's off-topic. I just mean that if Zuko says it, he means it. That's something I love about his character. I'd believe a vow from Zuko before a vow from Sokka. Although Sokka is probably more trustworthy in the overall sense and certainly more reasonable, I think Sokka would only metaphorically go to the ends of the earth whereas Zuko would show up 15,000 miles later with a retinue and an itinerary.
He kissed her like she’d been years away, gone to fight in some horrific war, instead of having seen her ten hours ago at dinner.
That's a lovely image.
Even though this still ends on an unhappy note for Katara, it feels more hopeful (and thus true to the characters, as these are good kids) than the previous one. Also, I'm a fan of the romantic inevitability narrative.
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timeasmymeasure
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Oh man, I love that observation of Zuko... he is the sort who would only make promises like that if he sincerely meant to keep them. The boy is so devoted (look at how long he stayed loyal to Ozai), that if that devotion turned to a girl or a woman, and if he made her promises to that regard then I think he'd be completely serious about it. It's part of his whole "I must be honorable and keep my word" thing, which makes the betrayal of Iroh so ironic because Zuko never swore loyalty to his uncle, never outright like he owed his father. He betrayed Iroh emotionally but not technically, not in the literal sense of breaking any promises. Anyway, that's off-topic. I just mean that if Zuko says it, he means it. That's something I love about his character. I'd believe a vow from Zuko before a vow from Sokka. Although Sokka is probably more trustworthy in the overall sense and certainly more reasonable, I think Sokka would only metaphorically go to the ends of the earth whereas Zuko would show up 15,000 miles later with a retinue and an itinerary.
He kissed her like she’d been years away, gone to fight in some horrific war, instead of having seen her ten hours ago at dinner.
That's a lovely image.
Even though this still ends on an unhappy note for Katara, it feels more hopeful (and thus true to the characters, as these are good kids) than the previous one. Also, I'm a fan of the romantic inevitability narrative.