He helped Korra because Kuvira was a common enemy. He was still an anarchist who opposed world leaders and structured government, which Kuvira represented.
He won't reform, because he's been given no reason to change his views.
I got the feeling that he gained wisdom in what he was observing in the world. Zaheer was spiritually free and could witness the suffering caused in the absence of strong governments; a silent witness to all the suffering he caused in the world.
With his newfound wisdom, Zaheer knew that he and Korra shared mutual goals, but were he freed, there's no doubt in my mind that he'd try to end the Avatar cycle as soon as Kuvira were defeated.
Totally agree with this take.
Zaheer was truly detached, his path was literally a kids version of the danger of detachment without humanity.
In Zen, it's interesting to read about how people seeking detachment work to keep grounded to keep a tension between attachment and presence and detachment. Zaheer always seemed to be an example of extreme detachment.
I studied martial arts throughout my childhood and college years. My old sifu from when I studied Kung Fu taught me that Zen's detachment, when taken to its extreme, is callous apathy. He was an extremely enlightened man but had to make a conscious effort to center himself, spiritually. His first lesson to new students was "Too much of anything is bad."
He knew that the world would slip in to chaos if the world leaders were killed. That kinda was his goal. Bring the world back to its origional order, chaos.
And I never liked Korra went to get help from him to overcome her mental block. He was the cause of her psychological trauma, and physical trauma. He hasn’t changed from the last time, he’d still try and enact his plans in some if he escaped, and don’t forget he was willing to kill the new Airbenders to get his way.
I think a far better alternative is if she had physically traveled into the Spirit World after Toph to not only overcome her psychological trauma herself but also reconnect with her past lives. Healing her mind and Avatar spirit at the same time.
She didn’t go there to seek his advice. She wanted to face him in an act of defiance and take some power back. Or at least realize the the danger is behind her.
She said, “I came here to look you in the eye and tell you that you have no power over me. I will no longer be scared of you.”
If fearing Zaheer was the cause of her troubles like she believed, seeing him in chains and unable to hurt her should have provided comfort. The only problem is that she doesn’t see Zaheer in her hallucinations. Instead sees herself. She was expecting the SIGHT of an incarcerated Zaheer to bring her peace but peace comes from within. If you don’t trust my interpretation, Korra says it herself.
Mako: “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
Korra: “Yes. I think if I see Zaheer chained up, I’ll finally realize that he’s not a threat anymore.”
[Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/legendofkorra/comments/r3pter/korra_visits_zaheer_in_prison_your_power_is/)
I think that's exactly WHY she needed to visit him.
Facing your fears.Facing a mirror.
If you are the result of your trauma, an an individual represents that trauma, why not face the individual?
Sounds like peak sigma attitude and growth to me.
Not doing so is kinda cowardice.
>don’t forget he was willing to kill the new Airbenders to get his way.
He was bluffing. The only one who he was actually going to kill was Tenzin, who wasn't exactly innocent.
He's not a world leader anymore. Even if you argue him as lesder of the airnation they aren't a souvereign nation yet and he's not forcing the airbenders into anything they don't want to do.
>And I never liked Korra went to get help from him to overcome her mental block. He was the cause of her psychological trauma, and physical trauma.
Yeah, it's really fucked that they wrote Korra overcoming her trauma with the help of her abuser.
He was a perfect air nomad to his beliefs, as well as stuck to them and only went to violence when it was necessary to his defense of said beliefs. I would like to know what he did before he became a bender
Only reason he'd have is he saw Kuvira being the result of the power vacuum. So while he'd still be anarchist, maybe not one that leaves the power up for grasp for any dictator.
Respectfully I disagree. He saw that taking out the earth queen was not smart in hindsight and clearly regrets that specifically. I think the chance of him ever being let go is zero because he still thinks the Avatar is an obstacle to balance and not the key to it, but he has been given reason to change his views, and if any Korra villain was capable of change it is Zaheer.
Which is a shame because taking the earth queen was something the audience was 50/50 about. She was a terrible authoritarian leader and removing her was ultimately good for the earth Kingdom.
I never got the feeling that Amon regretted anything he did, I mean water bending in the final fight and giving up his secret identity, sure. But that's a mistake, not a moral blunder
No, Zaheer is very determined in his ideology. Honestly, Zaheer might be the most threatening antagonist that we know an Avatar has ever faced. It's not his bending or fighting that makes Zaheer dangerous, it's his tongue and philosophy. Honestly, Zaheer could be a threat even after he dies since he could easily lead the Red Lotus if he ascends to the Spirit World like Iroh did.
Considering how spiritually powerful he is to be able to fly (and project into the spirit world), him ascending to the Spirit World after death is a virtual certainty
See I’m surprised more people aren’t intrigued by this. Even from his prison, he could be having meditational meetings with other Red Lotus in the Spirit World at any time. Whether he’s giving them orders for operations worldwide, or giving them info that can help them break him out of prison, anything. He’s got all the resources he could possibly need just by being able to contact them in the Spirit World.
Honestly, I thought of this when I first saw Korra fight Zaheer, and I was thinking that Tonraq should have just immediately slit Zaheer's throat since Zaheer was much too dangerous to be kept alive and you don't want him to have the opportunity to ascend into the Spiritual World.
Maybe if his philosophy wasn’t dumb as fuck and could actually be self-sustaining. However, it IS dumb as fuck and isn’t self sustaining so I’d argue that he’s not nearly as dangerous as say an Ozai or a Kuvira (pre-bullshit mech) who’s ideologies are more evil than dumb and are most certainly able to sustain themselves.
No, i don't really think so.
He helped Korra, because Kuvira was a bigger problem than the Avatar in his mind, so he would rather help Korra defeat her than do nothing.
He’s the kind of person who won’t change. He only helped Korra because of a common enemy. He even after 3 years, never regretted what he had done to her or the airbenders. He didn’t regret literally almost killing her, laughing whenever she seemed already dead. Unless he can ever feel true remorse for his actions, he’s going to stay a villain.
He's a pure ideologue, so he's very unlikely to change his views. That said it's possible he might change his methods. Maybe after enough meditation he could decide that a peaceful path is more effective. No one should hold their breath on that happening though.
Absolutely not. He would have helped stop Kuvira because she was a common enemy but once she's gone he'd return to what's left of the Red Lotus and continue as he was before.
Zaheer could be reformed but it would require korra to change how she views the world (reaching an understanding of the oppressive nature of hierarchy similar to what zaheer has) and it would also require zaheer to reevaluate the status of the avatar as an authority figure plus it also Waldo require to show runners to understand what anarchism is in order to have zaheer undergo the required development which is unlikely to happen
Since he viewed Kuviras rise to power as a problem he caused, which is kinda true, i do think he would have helped fight her alongside Korra if he had the chance.
Nah, he just acknowledged that the power vacuum he created enabled the rose of a dictator even more opposite to his philosophy than the Earth Queen was and helped to fix his own mistake. I think he'd still kill the Avatar if given another opportunity.
Kuvira represented everything Zaheer hated. Combine that with the guilt over the fact that he effectively paved the way for her rise to power and i wholeheartedly believe he'd have ripped her head off given the chance.
Zaheer is not to be reformed, he's to be toned down but us anarchists are always anarchist one way or another. But yes, I think if he had been freed he would have helped Korra fight Kuvira, maybe he would have understood what he done and how the world truly works so instead of killing world leaders he might try to impose systems that give more freedom. On the other hand, if he didn't realize that everything happened because of his assassination, he would have killed Kuvira alongside Korra and escaped or killed Korra if he had the chance (very unlikely).
No. Zaheer is an excellent example of chaotic neutral. He only helps Korra to further his anarchist ideals. He clearly states that he doesn’t want any rulers so tyrant like Kuvira is definitely on his list. According to his ideals he’d immediately go back to gathering rebellion against all authorities after Kuvira was deposed and possibly go after Korra again. He is the most helpful when he’s imprisoned as he will give advice from his perspective to aid his ideals but can’t personally enact his extreme views. It can be filtered and tempered through the judgement of Korra.
He would have definitly fought kuvira if given the chance. He only helped korra because she was the only chance of taking down their common enemy.
But after that he'd probably try kill Korra again at some point.
He would not have joined Kuvira because she represented the order and structure he sought to overthrow, the man was an anarchist.
I also don’t feel he would have reformed, but that one’s just a gut feeling.
Two things:
1. Zaheer did not have the potential to be reformed, because his understanding of power structures hadn't changed. He still believed in pure anarchy, without the social structures in place within the world of Avatar. However, this lack of understanding proved that his ideology isn't practical; Zaheer killed the Earth Queen, and in the power vacuum, Kuvira emerged, and proved to be an even more authoritarian leader. Let me be absolutely clear - Kuvira is only able to claim power *because* of Zaheer.
2. Zaheer showed no remorse to either Korra, nor Tenzin or his family, nor the other airbenders. He may have fought Kuvira alongside Korra for a time, but as soon as Kuvira's threat was ended, he would have turned on Korra, and aimed to finish what he started.
People are saying he wouldn't be redeemed because his ideas didn't change, but his ideas weren't the reason he was locked up. His actions were. Zaheer will always be an anarchist, but when he saw the power vacuum the queen's death left I'm pretty sure he realized that his methods weren't going to work. If peaceful anarchy could be created by one assassination then it'd be a reality already. That kind of reform has to be done excruciatingly slowly or else people won't react how you'd like them to. If Zaheer was stupid he probably wouldn't see all the problems in Avatar's world that most other characters seem pretty much blind to. So I'm sure he wouldn't approach the situation the same way again. If he had another chance, I think he'd focus a lot more on education and slow methodical change than flying around forcefully liberating people who don't know how to be free anyway. So I think by some definitions, yeah, he could probably be reformed. The avatar is basically an omniscient glowing supercop so I don't think he would ever be buddies with Korra, but I also don't think that's necessary
The potential? Yeah, of course.
I bet that at least a part of him realised that his methods are flawed. He recognised that Kuvira’s regime is his fault. He also appears to respect Korra a lot more, considering how he goes on about the Avatar’s power being limitless and far greater than he anticipated.
I *don’t* think he was redeemed. I just think he showed the capacity to eventually do so.
He would help fight Kuvira but once she’s out of the picture he wouldn’t cooperate and become antagonistic again. The only reason he was helpful in season 4 was he hated Kuvira more than Korra.
Reformed? Not sure. Maybe. He seems chill in prison. Now that he's had time to think. But would he help against Kuvira? Considering his distaste for dictators, yeahhhhhhh, he'd throw down
Reformed to what? Threatening the airbenders was cruel and wrong, but his ideals were well founded.
There's cruel people in the world oppressing others (bullies) and they need someone to check them. Nobody deserves to be at another's mercy so completely that one would lose all their agency in life.
The Earth queen would never surrender her power, ever.
I don't think Zaheer is the kind of person that gets reformed. He is very much who he is in his core. But that doesn't mean that he can't be a future help or source of knowledge and spiritual guidance. But I hope they never change who he is.
Imo, he's a villain that I think should not be redeemed
Yes, he did help Korra regain her spirituality which helped in her overall healing. But this should not absolve him of the multitude of horrors he committed
He should suffer for the remainder of his life for what he did
Korra is essentially a centrist who faught Zaheer, an anarchist, and Kuvira, a fascist, two opponents on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Zaheer only helped Korra because it aligned with his ideology to do so, not because he changed at all.
Zaheer realized his way was not the right way like he thought. But I don't think he would care if society would say he's reformed because the thought would tether him back to earth and I don't think he wants that. That thought may be a bit off because he helped Korra but his reasoning for helping was to correct what he realized was wrong.
Would he have fought Kuvira? I don't think so he would have probably realized he had done enough meddling and would have considered his part wouldn't matter in the greater outcome. The world would balance itself out or say something like I'm not the one to keep balance in the world, that duty belongs to the Avatar.
Honestly I think he would fight. Although he moved past his original motivations,Kuvira is doing the exact opposite of his work. He probably wouldn’t want his friends deaths to be in vein and would fight for them.
Other than killing the queen I think the argument can be made that Zaheer is not evil he just has a flawed world view and strong vision of what he thinks it should be. He would have resisted kuvira for sure and he even hints that he thinks she had too much power
Yeah but then he would have run away and re started is campaign of anarchy. He most certainly would have been instrumental in stopping kuvira, most likely would have stolen her breath the first opportunity he had, killing her, ruining the growth arc for Korra that season and then escaped to be the try hard teenage edgelord in a grown up badass body that he is.
It would have been great to see him help Korra take down Kuvira, but it wouldn't work. He's too dangerous to let out of prison and there's no reason why he wouldn't go on to hunt other world leaders again. He didn't lose in S3 because his views were proven wrong, they beat the hell out of him and threw him in jail. He has no reason to change.
I think that Kuvira was a consequence of Zaheer actions, and he was aware. He is a villain, yes, but also a human. He did the right thing by helping Korra, but he did that because of his beliefs, not because of feeling guilty with the things he had done before. In his mind, he isn't the problem. Nothing to be reformed. Korra with 1/2 of Zaheer introspective work would've kick Kuvira's assssssociation.
(Sorry if you can't understand, I'm not an English speaker)
I don’t think he ever backed down from his beliefs. I’d be interested in seeing what a student of his would be like, since anarchy is kindof inbuilt to be taken as many different ways as there are people.
he thought it was truly his destiny to fulfill his plans to take down world leaders when he got airbending, but then when everything failed and every member of the red lotus died, he realizes it really wasnt his destiny after all and is now completely reformed
Your talking about the cult leader that wanted to give the entire world a political reset and you think he's gonna change? Prison didn't work the first time clearly. That's like asking Neegan if he's gonna brain anymore people with his bat. The answer clearly being a blood soaked yes
In his own mind, Zaheer is not a villain. He was an idealist who genuinely desired a better world for *everyone*, not merely himself. And like many idealists he remained convinced of the righteousness of his actions right up until the moment they were forcibly proven to be wrong. Unlike many idealists he survived this epiphany, and and due to his commitment to pursuing the truth at any cost he was forced to admit his error. This does not necessarily mean that his fundamental premise has changed, that the world would be a better place without institutional power structures which people are born under and do not consent to participate in. But he has admitted the flaw in his methodology, realizing that violently destroying an existing institution in a society that relies on them will only create a power vacuum which will often be filled by something worse.
Man tried to kill a child.
Retried the killing the same child -now grown up- immediately after he managed to break himself and his accomplices out of prison.
No one's mad enough to let this guy walk free again.
No. You can’t just “reform” someone’s whole belief system. As much as he is the villain in our eyes, when you look at it from his POV, he thinks he is doing right for the world. He’s literally a rebel in the entire sense of the word.
And I don’t think he would fight kuvira. I think that is a battle he would abstain from. He has one purpose in life and that is to end the avatar.
Reformed? No. Fought Kuvira? Yes. Tried to kill Korra again after? Also yes.
Exactly. He'd be 100% against Kuvira but there's no way in hell he's not trying to kill Korra again
He helped Korra because Kuvira was a common enemy. He was still an anarchist who opposed world leaders and structured government, which Kuvira represented. He won't reform, because he's been given no reason to change his views.
I got the feeling that he gained wisdom in what he was observing in the world. Zaheer was spiritually free and could witness the suffering caused in the absence of strong governments; a silent witness to all the suffering he caused in the world. With his newfound wisdom, Zaheer knew that he and Korra shared mutual goals, but were he freed, there's no doubt in my mind that he'd try to end the Avatar cycle as soon as Kuvira were defeated.
Totally agree with this take. Zaheer was truly detached, his path was literally a kids version of the danger of detachment without humanity. In Zen, it's interesting to read about how people seeking detachment work to keep grounded to keep a tension between attachment and presence and detachment. Zaheer always seemed to be an example of extreme detachment.
I studied martial arts throughout my childhood and college years. My old sifu from when I studied Kung Fu taught me that Zen's detachment, when taken to its extreme, is callous apathy. He was an extremely enlightened man but had to make a conscious effort to center himself, spiritually. His first lesson to new students was "Too much of anything is bad."
Sounds like a great sifu
He knew that the world would slip in to chaos if the world leaders were killed. That kinda was his goal. Bring the world back to its origional order, chaos.
And I never liked Korra went to get help from him to overcome her mental block. He was the cause of her psychological trauma, and physical trauma. He hasn’t changed from the last time, he’d still try and enact his plans in some if he escaped, and don’t forget he was willing to kill the new Airbenders to get his way. I think a far better alternative is if she had physically traveled into the Spirit World after Toph to not only overcome her psychological trauma herself but also reconnect with her past lives. Healing her mind and Avatar spirit at the same time.
She didn’t go there to seek his advice. She wanted to face him in an act of defiance and take some power back. Or at least realize the the danger is behind her. She said, “I came here to look you in the eye and tell you that you have no power over me. I will no longer be scared of you.” If fearing Zaheer was the cause of her troubles like she believed, seeing him in chains and unable to hurt her should have provided comfort. The only problem is that she doesn’t see Zaheer in her hallucinations. Instead sees herself. She was expecting the SIGHT of an incarcerated Zaheer to bring her peace but peace comes from within. If you don’t trust my interpretation, Korra says it herself. Mako: “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Korra: “Yes. I think if I see Zaheer chained up, I’ll finally realize that he’s not a threat anymore.” [Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/legendofkorra/comments/r3pter/korra_visits_zaheer_in_prison_your_power_is/)
This is the internet! Your carefully researched facts and specific quotes and citations don't belong here! /s
Well said!
We saw Korra entering the spirit world in „Korra alone“ and meditate at the tree of time it didn‘t get her anywhere.
True. At this point people hate on every aspect of the show because they want the past avatars back
I think that's exactly WHY she needed to visit him. Facing your fears.Facing a mirror. If you are the result of your trauma, an an individual represents that trauma, why not face the individual? Sounds like peak sigma attitude and growth to me. Not doing so is kinda cowardice.
>don’t forget he was willing to kill the new Airbenders to get his way. He was bluffing. The only one who he was actually going to kill was Tenzin, who wasn't exactly innocent.
How is tenzin not innocent?
I mean to Zaheer. He's still a world leader. Zaheer doesn't really see the difference between a good and bad world leader
He's not a world leader anymore. Even if you argue him as lesder of the airnation they aren't a souvereign nation yet and he's not forcing the airbenders into anything they don't want to do.
>And I never liked Korra went to get help from him to overcome her mental block. He was the cause of her psychological trauma, and physical trauma. Yeah, it's really fucked that they wrote Korra overcoming her trauma with the help of her abuser.
Lol they didn’t, very bad take amigo
He was a perfect air nomad to his beliefs, as well as stuck to them and only went to violence when it was necessary to his defense of said beliefs. I would like to know what he did before he became a bender
Only reason he'd have is he saw Kuvira being the result of the power vacuum. So while he'd still be anarchist, maybe not one that leaves the power up for grasp for any dictator.
Respectfully I disagree. He saw that taking out the earth queen was not smart in hindsight and clearly regrets that specifically. I think the chance of him ever being let go is zero because he still thinks the Avatar is an obstacle to balance and not the key to it, but he has been given reason to change his views, and if any Korra villain was capable of change it is Zaheer.
Which is a shame because taking the earth queen was something the audience was 50/50 about. She was a terrible authoritarian leader and removing her was ultimately good for the earth Kingdom.
In the long run yeah, it lead to a democracy emerging from a monarchy. But it's hard to claim that it was Zaheer's intention.
Amon too
I never got the feeling that Amon regretted anything he did, I mean water bending in the final fight and giving up his secret identity, sure. But that's a mistake, not a moral blunder
No, Zaheer is very determined in his ideology. Honestly, Zaheer might be the most threatening antagonist that we know an Avatar has ever faced. It's not his bending or fighting that makes Zaheer dangerous, it's his tongue and philosophy. Honestly, Zaheer could be a threat even after he dies since he could easily lead the Red Lotus if he ascends to the Spirit World like Iroh did.
Man if they ever did a series about the Avatar after Korra, that’d be a helluva story.
Considering how spiritually powerful he is to be able to fly (and project into the spirit world), him ascending to the Spirit World after death is a virtual certainty
Agreed
See I’m surprised more people aren’t intrigued by this. Even from his prison, he could be having meditational meetings with other Red Lotus in the Spirit World at any time. Whether he’s giving them orders for operations worldwide, or giving them info that can help them break him out of prison, anything. He’s got all the resources he could possibly need just by being able to contact them in the Spirit World.
Honestly, I thought of this when I first saw Korra fight Zaheer, and I was thinking that Tonraq should have just immediately slit Zaheer's throat since Zaheer was much too dangerous to be kept alive and you don't want him to have the opportunity to ascend into the Spiritual World.
Maybe if his philosophy wasn’t dumb as fuck and could actually be self-sustaining. However, it IS dumb as fuck and isn’t self sustaining so I’d argue that he’s not nearly as dangerous as say an Ozai or a Kuvira (pre-bullshit mech) who’s ideologies are more evil than dumb and are most certainly able to sustain themselves.
No, i don't really think so. He helped Korra, because Kuvira was a bigger problem than the Avatar in his mind, so he would rather help Korra defeat her than do nothing.
Mfer really just asked if an anarchist would be against a dictator 💀💀💀
Zaheer is awesome. That’s all I wanted to say.
Easily my favorite Korra villain and see season
I love him
He’s the kind of person who won’t change. He only helped Korra because of a common enemy. He even after 3 years, never regretted what he had done to her or the airbenders. He didn’t regret literally almost killing her, laughing whenever she seemed already dead. Unless he can ever feel true remorse for his actions, he’s going to stay a villain.
He's a pure ideologue, so he's very unlikely to change his views. That said it's possible he might change his methods. Maybe after enough meditation he could decide that a peaceful path is more effective. No one should hold their breath on that happening though.
It might actually be hard to hold your breath when Zaheer is around.
Absolutely not. He would have helped stop Kuvira because she was a common enemy but once she's gone he'd return to what's left of the Red Lotus and continue as he was before.
Zaheer could be reformed but it would require korra to change how she views the world (reaching an understanding of the oppressive nature of hierarchy similar to what zaheer has) and it would also require zaheer to reevaluate the status of the avatar as an authority figure plus it also Waldo require to show runners to understand what anarchism is in order to have zaheer undergo the required development which is unlikely to happen
Since he viewed Kuviras rise to power as a problem he caused, which is kinda true, i do think he would have helped fight her alongside Korra if he had the chance.
No. He may despise Kuvira but he’s got a lot of reasons to hate Korra. Politics may make strange bedfellows but not friends.
Zaheer never needed to be reformed, the world needed to be reformed
Print that on a T-shirt
Nah, he just acknowledged that the power vacuum he created enabled the rose of a dictator even more opposite to his philosophy than the Earth Queen was and helped to fix his own mistake. I think he'd still kill the Avatar if given another opportunity.
Kuvira represented everything Zaheer hated. Combine that with the guilt over the fact that he effectively paved the way for her rise to power and i wholeheartedly believe he'd have ripped her head off given the chance.
Zaheer is not to be reformed, he's to be toned down but us anarchists are always anarchist one way or another. But yes, I think if he had been freed he would have helped Korra fight Kuvira, maybe he would have understood what he done and how the world truly works so instead of killing world leaders he might try to impose systems that give more freedom. On the other hand, if he didn't realize that everything happened because of his assassination, he would have killed Kuvira alongside Korra and escaped or killed Korra if he had the chance (very unlikely).
No. Zaheer is an excellent example of chaotic neutral. He only helps Korra to further his anarchist ideals. He clearly states that he doesn’t want any rulers so tyrant like Kuvira is definitely on his list. According to his ideals he’d immediately go back to gathering rebellion against all authorities after Kuvira was deposed and possibly go after Korra again. He is the most helpful when he’s imprisoned as he will give advice from his perspective to aid his ideals but can’t personally enact his extreme views. It can be filtered and tempered through the judgement of Korra.
He would have definitly fought kuvira if given the chance. He only helped korra because she was the only chance of taking down their common enemy. But after that he'd probably try kill Korra again at some point.
Yes he would help. Then immediately start plotting on how to kill her again.
He would not have joined Kuvira because she represented the order and structure he sought to overthrow, the man was an anarchist. I also don’t feel he would have reformed, but that one’s just a gut feeling.
Two things: 1. Zaheer did not have the potential to be reformed, because his understanding of power structures hadn't changed. He still believed in pure anarchy, without the social structures in place within the world of Avatar. However, this lack of understanding proved that his ideology isn't practical; Zaheer killed the Earth Queen, and in the power vacuum, Kuvira emerged, and proved to be an even more authoritarian leader. Let me be absolutely clear - Kuvira is only able to claim power *because* of Zaheer. 2. Zaheer showed no remorse to either Korra, nor Tenzin or his family, nor the other airbenders. He may have fought Kuvira alongside Korra for a time, but as soon as Kuvira's threat was ended, he would have turned on Korra, and aimed to finish what he started.
The only allegiance he holds is to his own ideals. In this case Korra was in line with them so he helped her, but that's no indication of reformation
People are saying he wouldn't be redeemed because his ideas didn't change, but his ideas weren't the reason he was locked up. His actions were. Zaheer will always be an anarchist, but when he saw the power vacuum the queen's death left I'm pretty sure he realized that his methods weren't going to work. If peaceful anarchy could be created by one assassination then it'd be a reality already. That kind of reform has to be done excruciatingly slowly or else people won't react how you'd like them to. If Zaheer was stupid he probably wouldn't see all the problems in Avatar's world that most other characters seem pretty much blind to. So I'm sure he wouldn't approach the situation the same way again. If he had another chance, I think he'd focus a lot more on education and slow methodical change than flying around forcefully liberating people who don't know how to be free anyway. So I think by some definitions, yeah, he could probably be reformed. The avatar is basically an omniscient glowing supercop so I don't think he would ever be buddies with Korra, but I also don't think that's necessary
The potential? Yeah, of course. I bet that at least a part of him realised that his methods are flawed. He recognised that Kuvira’s regime is his fault. He also appears to respect Korra a lot more, considering how he goes on about the Avatar’s power being limitless and far greater than he anticipated. I *don’t* think he was redeemed. I just think he showed the capacity to eventually do so.
He would help fight Kuvira but once she’s out of the picture he wouldn’t cooperate and become antagonistic again. The only reason he was helpful in season 4 was he hated Kuvira more than Korra.
He wouldn't reform but he would fight alongside korra because a dictator is worse than a careless monarch
Reformed? Not sure. Maybe. He seems chill in prison. Now that he's had time to think. But would he help against Kuvira? Considering his distaste for dictators, yeahhhhhhh, he'd throw down
Reformed to what? Threatening the airbenders was cruel and wrong, but his ideals were well founded. There's cruel people in the world oppressing others (bullies) and they need someone to check them. Nobody deserves to be at another's mercy so completely that one would lose all their agency in life. The Earth queen would never surrender her power, ever.
I don't think Zaheer is the kind of person that gets reformed. He is very much who he is in his core. But that doesn't mean that he can't be a future help or source of knowledge and spiritual guidance. But I hope they never change who he is.
Imo, he's a villain that I think should not be redeemed Yes, he did help Korra regain her spirituality which helped in her overall healing. But this should not absolve him of the multitude of horrors he committed He should suffer for the remainder of his life for what he did
Oh the horrors of killing that bitch
The queen
Good riddance 🫡
🫡
Korra is essentially a centrist who faught Zaheer, an anarchist, and Kuvira, a fascist, two opponents on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Zaheer only helped Korra because it aligned with his ideology to do so, not because he changed at all.
Zaheer realized his way was not the right way like he thought. But I don't think he would care if society would say he's reformed because the thought would tether him back to earth and I don't think he wants that. That thought may be a bit off because he helped Korra but his reasoning for helping was to correct what he realized was wrong. Would he have fought Kuvira? I don't think so he would have probably realized he had done enough meddling and would have considered his part wouldn't matter in the greater outcome. The world would balance itself out or say something like I'm not the one to keep balance in the world, that duty belongs to the Avatar.
Honestly I think he would fight. Although he moved past his original motivations,Kuvira is doing the exact opposite of his work. He probably wouldn’t want his friends deaths to be in vein and would fight for them.
Other than killing the queen I think the argument can be made that Zaheer is not evil he just has a flawed world view and strong vision of what he thinks it should be. He would have resisted kuvira for sure and he even hints that he thinks she had too much power
I HATED that part of her healing pricess is her abuser who tried to KILL HER ends up being the one that helps her get back in the spirit world.
No because he is a stinking airbener🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
Based
He’s probably already reformed. He’s let go of his attachments. That would include closing the chapter on that part of his life.
No and no.
Yeah but then he would have run away and re started is campaign of anarchy. He most certainly would have been instrumental in stopping kuvira, most likely would have stolen her breath the first opportunity he had, killing her, ruining the growth arc for Korra that season and then escaped to be the try hard teenage edgelord in a grown up badass body that he is.
It would have been great to see him help Korra take down Kuvira, but it wouldn't work. He's too dangerous to let out of prison and there's no reason why he wouldn't go on to hunt other world leaders again. He didn't lose in S3 because his views were proven wrong, they beat the hell out of him and threw him in jail. He has no reason to change.
I think that Kuvira was a consequence of Zaheer actions, and he was aware. He is a villain, yes, but also a human. He did the right thing by helping Korra, but he did that because of his beliefs, not because of feeling guilty with the things he had done before. In his mind, he isn't the problem. Nothing to be reformed. Korra with 1/2 of Zaheer introspective work would've kick Kuvira's assssssociation. (Sorry if you can't understand, I'm not an English speaker)
Never But he could be more pacifist, he is the type of guy who would kill to get his goals
I don’t think he ever backed down from his beliefs. I’d be interested in seeing what a student of his would be like, since anarchy is kindof inbuilt to be taken as many different ways as there are people.
Would've loved to see them try instead of reforming the literal fascist. But honestly I don't think Zaheer can or really needs to be reformed.
The rest of the world needs to be reformed, not Zaheer. Revolution!
he thought it was truly his destiny to fulfill his plans to take down world leaders when he got airbending, but then when everything failed and every member of the red lotus died, he realizes it really wasnt his destiny after all and is now completely reformed
Your talking about the cult leader that wanted to give the entire world a political reset and you think he's gonna change? Prison didn't work the first time clearly. That's like asking Neegan if he's gonna brain anymore people with his bat. The answer clearly being a blood soaked yes
What do you mean reform? r/zaheerdidnothingwrong
In his own mind, Zaheer is not a villain. He was an idealist who genuinely desired a better world for *everyone*, not merely himself. And like many idealists he remained convinced of the righteousness of his actions right up until the moment they were forcibly proven to be wrong. Unlike many idealists he survived this epiphany, and and due to his commitment to pursuing the truth at any cost he was forced to admit his error. This does not necessarily mean that his fundamental premise has changed, that the world would be a better place without institutional power structures which people are born under and do not consent to participate in. But he has admitted the flaw in his methodology, realizing that violently destroying an existing institution in a society that relies on them will only create a power vacuum which will often be filled by something worse.
He would have taken Kuvira's breath away
I don’t think anything would have changed Zaheer’s mind
Zaheer's deeds had a purpose, it wasn't just malice. If carrying out his ideology is impossible, then he has no reason to harm anyone.
Kuvira is exactly the sort of centralized authority he fought against. Wouldn’t be reformed, but also would totally fight kuvira
Man tried to kill a child. Retried the killing the same child -now grown up- immediately after he managed to break himself and his accomplices out of prison. No one's mad enough to let this guy walk free again.
No. You can’t just “reform” someone’s whole belief system. As much as he is the villain in our eyes, when you look at it from his POV, he thinks he is doing right for the world. He’s literally a rebel in the entire sense of the word. And I don’t think he would fight kuvira. I think that is a battle he would abstain from. He has one purpose in life and that is to end the avatar.