Before anything else, I do admit he’s far from perfect. However, over the course of my time in this fandom, it feels almost miraculous to see anything positive written about him. I'm playing devil's advocate here because I genuinely feel that while the creators tried to portray a specific image of Roku, the fandom refuses to move past their preconceived notions.
Let’s break down the main arguments against him:
1. "He didn't kill Sozin, which led to the Air Nomad genocide."
Okay, this is an easy one to start, so I’ll be straightforward and ask the following: Would you kill your best friend? Someone who is basically a brother to you and whom you've known since childhood? Can you really do that without hesitation or a second thought? Just think about it for a good minute.
That is exactly what Roku was going through. Before being the Avatar, he was a human being. In many situations, people naturally defend or justify the wrongdoings of those they hold dear. Interestingly, Roku didn't even do the latter; he gave Sozin a clear ultimatum to stay in line, and for a long time, Sozin did. Roku delivered his message clearly, and I truly believe that if Sozin had attempted to move forward with his imperialist plans while Roku was alive, Roku would have stopped him permanently.
Furthermore, killing Sozin wasn't a guaranteed fix. Doing so would have likely sparked chaos within the Fire Nation, allowing Azulon to simply take over the original plan. And also, who is to say it wouldn’t have been worse? They might have targeted waterbenders even earlier just to speed up the process of finding and indoctrinating the next Fire Avatar. Killing a political figure rarely solves the underlying issue; it usually just creates a power vacuum or turns the deceased into a martyr.
2. "He's a weak Avatar!"
Many people claim this because they compare him to powerhouse Avatars like Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen, and Korra. But honestly? Roku has just as much potential as any of them. He is capable of lavabending and has shown incredible precision with firebending—such as when he melted the chains freeing Aang's friends in the Fire Temple without harming them. That requires an elite level of control.
I would say that rather than an offensive powerhouse, I'll probably describe him as a highly skilled, versatile Avatar. Another great feat is how effortlessly he dodged Sozin's initial fire attack during their confrontation, using earthbending to instantly disappear and reappear. That takes incredibly sharp reflexes. Personally, I view him as the "textbook" Avatar, and that is how he was meant to be seen. He was the one who managed to maintain a relatively regular life, did not die tragically young, and wasn't constantly overwhelmed by past lives or spiritual crises.
Additionally, Roku was Aang's primary spiritual guide, teaching him the fundamentals of the Avatar State. The lore also highlights his spiritual depth, referencing past Avatars like Szeto, Salir, and even a two-spirited Avatar (matching the historical and cultural dynamics of real-world indigenous tribes). Roku is definitely not lacking on the spiritual side.
3. "He was too passive!"
Something I appreciate about Roku is that while he is framed as the traditional "wise old sage," he actually has a distinct personality; and his traits can double as flaws too. He is far more impulsive than people give him credit for. For instance, he practically threatened Jeong Jeong to force him to teach Aang firebending out of order, which goes completely against the classic "patient wise man" archetype.
If you wish to see another evidence, he also bypassed peaceful diplomacy when confronting Sozin. We all remember the aggressive energy of that discussion and it was anything but civil.
Furthermore, in the comics, he even suggested that Aang kill Zuko when the young Fire Lord showed signs of potentially becoming a tyrant. By default, Roku seems to have a hot-headed nature, and Sozin was simply the exception to his temper due to their decades-long bond.
As for his "be decisive" advice to Aang (which is often hard for fans to defend, me included), it can be interpreted as: "Be decisive in your choice to put down Ozai." He drew a parallel between Aang's situation and his own history with Sozin, admitting that if he had been more decisive, he could have stopped the war before it started. But realistically, and again, how could he have predicted that his lifelong best friend would ultimately betray him on that volcano?
4. "He left a world at war for the next incarnation."
This might be a really unpopular take, but Roku didn't give Aang a messed-up world; the world fell apart in the Avatar's absence. And THIS is also another argument in favor of Roku, different from most Avatars that do leave behind problems for the next incarnation to solve. While Roku was alive, there was no global war. Every time Sozin tried to expand, Roku stopped him cold. In the lore, we don't see Roku being directly responsible for leaving unresolved geopolitical disasters. In contrast, Kyoshi left behind deep-rooted issues regarding Chin the Conqueror's followers and corrupt Dai-Lee agents, whereas Yangchen's era left massive diplomatic scars that Kuruk had to clean up due to the uprising of dark spirits.
There is a clear pattern of Avatars inheriting the messes of their predecessors (Szeto, Yangchen, Kuruk, Kyoshi). However, the 100-year war wasn't a direct consequence of Roku's active failures. The war escalated because Aang vanished, leaving the world without its ultimate peacekeeper for a century. The conflict arose from a lack of an Avatar to maintain the balance, not from Roku's specific political decisions. Not even the Fire Nation Royal Family attributes their expansion success to gaps left by Roku, whereas Yangchen directly had to deal with the fallout of Szeto's bureaucratic era.
In short, I recognize Roku's flaws, but the fandom completely overlooks his perspective and the impossible positions he was put in. I really hope the upcoming novels dive deeper into his character and story. I actually have a few things to say in defense of Avatar Szeto as well, but I’ll save those for another post!
Feel free to comment with your thoughts, please let me know if you agree, disagree, or have anything else to add!
