This doesn’t just apply to this fandom, but it feels extra appropriate right now. I am begging people to stop viewing villains only through a lens of redemption, and to learn that it’s possible sympathise without making excuses.

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An antagonist getting a backstory doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to become a good guy; all it does is make them three-dimensional like any good character is. Some people are redeemable, but not every villain is a Zuko.

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And on the other hand, you can feel bad for what someone’s gone through without trying to justify their actions. It’s not a black and white binary where the only choices are “they never did anything wrong” or “they deserve no empathy.”

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Characters like Adam and Cinder didn’t deserve to be abused when they were innocent children, but the choices they went on to make as adults are also completely indefensible. Those two facts can coexist, I promise.

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To be clear, what I’m saying is it’s possible to feel sorry for the traumatised child they used to be without defending their actions. But if you empathise in any way with either Adam or Cinder in the present that’s a huge red flag.

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