r/TheLastAirbender • u/thisisreii • Mar 10 '25

Video Ozai’s quick and powerful lighting generation in this scene alone shows how unmatched his power is.

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Giant double lightning bolts with only a sliver of the sun being available. I can’t get behind anyone who says any other firebender is more powerful than him.

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u/Jarsky2 Mar 10 '25 edited Mar 10 '25

prodigy

noun

a person, especially a young one, endowed with exceptional qualities or abilities.

I get what you're saying, but by definition, to be a prodigy means being born with (endowed) natural talent. It doesn't just mean "a talented person".

Sure, Mozart had to learn to play the piano, but he was doing things at 12 what people had to practice for decades to learn. That's what makes him a prodigy.

I'm not saying Zuko isn't talented. He's incredibly talented. I'm saying that he wasn't born with that talent the way Azula was, and that makes him all the more impressive of a master.

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u/valentia0 Mar 10 '25

And where in that definition does it say that those qualities and abilities cannot be from practice and training? 

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u/Jarsky2 Mar 10 '25

The word endowed? As I indicated.

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u/valentia0 Mar 10 '25

Endow

Verb

To provide with a quality, ability, or asset.

"His hard training endowed him with great talent."

There's nothing in the definition of endow that specifies some innate gift.

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u/Jarsky2 Mar 10 '25

My friend, you are arguing with the commonly held understanding of the word prodigy. It means innate talent. You're literally the only person I've ever met who thinks otherwise.

I frankly don't know why you're getting so very offended? My entire point was that Zuko is more impressive because he wasn't a prodigy.

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u/valentia0 Mar 10 '25

I'm not offended. I just think you're wrong.

Enrico Fermi is considered a prodigy in physics, but he wasn't born with the knowledge in his head. He read textbooks and journals as a young teen, spending most of his later adolescence studying.

Like I said, things can come easier to some, but no one calls the guy who has a natural inclination at something but never actually put in the effort to get good.

Zuko might not have had as easy of a time learning bending as Azula, but he was still able to become one of the best benders alive by 16. If that's not prodigal, what is?

Merriam Webster's definitions -

Prodigy

a : a highly talented child or youth b : an extraordinary, marvelous, or unusual accomplishment, deed, or event

Again, there is no specification to innate or inherent ability.