She seemed too overdramatic, unnecessary and one of the least influential characters of the show. However, as time stretched on and I watched Book One: Water a few more times, I began to realize the absolute necessity of her character over and over.
Deeper I fell into the rabbit hole that is Princess Yue, and she has now become one of my favorite characters.
There are quite a few reasons that make Princess Yue such a lucrative character to the series. We'll go over some of the most obvious and we'll dig a little deeper as we continue on.
Her Sacrifice Saved The World
The Moon and Ocean Spirit chose to take on a mortal form. This, in turn, made them vulnerable to the consequence of death. When the Moon Spirit was killed, Yue stepped forward and sacrificed her life in order to restore the moon, and thus, restore balance to the world. What if she had not stepped forward? What if she had ignored this burden that had been put on her shoulders. And, more importantly, why on earth would anyone care that this whiney Northern Water Tribe princess gave up her life to save the world. I mean, who really cares? Well, let's figure that out now.
Sokka Cared About Yue's Sacrifice
And there's the primary reason why anyone should care about Princess Yue and the fact that she became the moon. Sokka, a character whom we've known from the first episode, was completely infatuated with this girl. His own strife and conflicting emotions concerning Yue were enough to get us, as viewers, to care about her. But there's still something about Yue that's...off putting. I admit, I understood why Yue and Sokka had to have a romance, but that didn't mean I liked her. So what was it, then? What was it that made me give a darn abou the Northern Water Tribe's crown princess? Well...
Yue Took Sokka's Characterization to the Next Level
That's right, kiddies. Sokka needed something to do at the North Pole. Katara and Aang were definitely center stage with their waterbending training. How could the writers leave good old Sokka in the dust? Well, they couldn't. And they didn't. In fact, they portrayed Sokka in a role that viewers had yet to see him in--that of the romantic. Sure, he had that brief (very, very brief) tryst with Suki on Kyoshi Island, but this whole thing with Yue gave viewers a glimpse of a vulnerable, growing up Sokka. This added to his character tremendously because up until that point he had been the "meat and sarcasm guy".
The fact that the writers had so cleverly transformed Sokka from a snarky punk into this stand up guy that cared about someone was a highly intelligent move. This, my friends, was what made me change my mind about Princess Yue. Though she seems a little weird, and their romance was a tad forced, you have to understand that the show had to cram weeks of romantic tension into three episodes. With that in mind, examine the last three episodes of Book One: Water once more (1:18 "The Waterbending Master", 1:19 "The Siege of the North, Part One" and 1:20 "The Siege of the North, Part Two") and take a closer look at Sokka and Yue's dynamic.
So you think that's the only reason I think Princess Yue is awesome? Well think again. Because I'm about to get all analytical up in here.
Princess Yue Made the Sokka/Suki Romance Possible
Unlike Yue, I've always been a fan of Suki. I thought she was an excellent character and I was completely ecstatic when she was brought into the series as a primary cast member. Sokka and Suki work wonderfully together, and Yue made it possible. Why is that? Well, first of all, she died so Sokka was single (harsh much?) but more importantly, she was a delicate girl.
Okay. Let's think about this: Yue, though brave and honorable, was kind of a weakling. She was strong emotionally but required a tough guy like Sokka to balance her character dynamic. When Sokka lost her, he transformed into this slightly overbearing, paranoid character. This internal conflict is directly addressed in episode 2:12, "The Serpent's Pass" where he was highly protective of Suki.
Suki has always been a tough cookie. I would go as far to say that Suki's driving motivation in the show is to be a super tough chick. This makes Suki ideal for Sokka in the sense that he doesn't have to constantly be protecting her. He can rest easy knowing he's with a lady that's got enough grit to take care of herself. The Sokka/Princess Yue romance directly influenced Sokka's character enough to make him more open to the idea of Suki.
You following me? Good. It all made sense in my head.
Perhaps I am reading too much into the show and made a whole lot of something out of nothing (and by "nothing" I mean Princess Yue) or maybe...she's just a really lucrative character and you didn't know it.
The end.
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Images courtesy of www.avatarspiritmedia.net ; all images edited by me.
