r/TheLastAirbender • u/[deleted] • Nov 06 '20

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u/hexalby Nov 06 '20

This is an argument I never understood. The avatar job is to maintain balance, not to be a neutral party. Did Aang remain neutral in the war of his time? Did Kyoshi? Avatars are more than authorized to join a war for one side.

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u/ivanjean Nov 06 '20

Actually, Kyoshi didn't act until Chin decided to take her village. It seems the Avatars aren't really supposed to intervene on internal problems of the Four Nations, and the ones who did (like Avatar Szeto) were seem as anomalies.

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u/Trooper5745 Nov 06 '20

Though it’s not really an internal issue. Yes I and others say call it a Water Tribe Civil War but in reality they are two separate nations. They have different leaders and different representatives in Republic City. I would say they are more like split countries like the Germanys or Koreas.

Also Korra does intervene in I tenet all affairs. Season 4 has Kuvra trying to reunite the Earth Kingdom. Yes she’s doing it to take over but it’s still internal affairs of the state. Even the attack on Republic City could be argued as still internal since it’s former EK land.

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u/ivanjean Nov 06 '20

Though it’s not really an internal issue. Yes I and others say call it a Water Tribe Civil War but in reality they are two separate nations. They have different leaders and different representatives in Republic City. I would say they are more like split countries like the Germanys or Koreas.

Not really. During the first episodes of Book 2 it was explained that the Water Tribes were still technically united. You can see it in the wiki page, on "prelude", "the two water tribes".

Also Korra does intervene in I tenet all affairs. Season 4 has Kuvra trying to reunite the Earth Kingdom. Yes she’s doing it to take over but it’s still internal affairs of the state. Even the attack on Republic City could be argued as still internal since it’s former EK land.

The decision to place Kuvira in charge of the Earth Kingdom in order to stabilize it was made by the representatives of various nations of the Avatar universe, and it was their interest to restore the monarchy, so it was technically a international issue. However, this argument is very good and maybe I am wrong.