Read on Twitter
my PERSONAL analysis, interpretation and thoughts on the character development of mai from avatar the last airbender (a thread):
i think mai has four main consistent character traits that i picked up on: adventurous, intelligent, loyal and stoic/apathetic
1. in our introduction to mai, we can see that she is a character who is a thrill seeker. i mean she literally learned to throw knives out of boredom. i presume this is because of her parents repression and she would rather do anything than sit idly and comply as her parents wish
i know some people believe that she was manipulated + coerced by azula to join her, bc mai probably wouldn't have had the option to deny her. although this is true, we see no hesitation from mai like we did ty lee. mai jumped at the opportunity before even knowing the mission
so i personally didn't interpret this scene as manipulation. this being said, i dont think mai jumped at the opportunity bc of her loyalty to azula or bc she's patriotic but simply bc she is bored of her life, wants to get away from her controlling parents and just.. have fun
2. i think mai is a highly intelligent character. i think it's a disservice to her character to say she was a blind follower coerced into following azula - we see her choose which battles are worth the fight, defy azula and even express hesitation/concern at her plans
her ultimate betrayal is probably the biggest sign of her intelligence. she's been analyzing and "calculating" azula as much as azula has been doing the same to mai. she knew EXACTLY what to say to azula to completely break down her psyche and trigger her downfall. she is SMART!!
3. another interesting trait i saw in mai is her loyalty. considering she's usually indifferent to things, the fact that she sticks up for her friends is telling of how much she really cares and how loyal she is to those she cares about, even though she's not super open about it
4. lastly i think she's stoic/apathetic. this is as a result of her parents controlling nature, but also bc she's emotionally intelligent. i think her parents suppressed her desire and ability to express her passions, but being emotionally composed has always been her strength
here is an example of both these traits and (imo) an actual example of azula coercing her. there is no way she could refuse the princess. so she agrees to give up her brother, i think the close up shot displays her annoyance
at yet another figure in her life repressing her ability to freely do what she wants (ideally, rescue her brother). but the next shot she composes herself, hiding her emotions from azula, showing she's stoic and emotionally intelligent
ok now i wanna talk about fanon mai and why i'm unable to see mais character in that light. here's where things get confusing with the writing: i think we can all agree (i hope) that mai is inconsistently written and lacks development
when she's with zuko, she's a completely different character. we see her defy her previous traits of being stoic and adventurous. with him, she is more expressive, emotive and laid back
i think some fans may interpret this scene as zuko bringing out a side in her she is not comfortable showing to anyone else. that this is the true mai but it is hidden bc of her parents controllingness and her fear to express emotions
personally i view it as ooc
not to say that these clashing traits can't coexist within a person. but there is little development to WHY they exist within mai. why is zuko the one she is comfortable around the most? why does she love him so much? why does she care about him the most out of everyone??
we see them as having childhood crushes, they then spend years apart and automatically get back together. the fact that mai was chasing zuko just an episode ago isn't addressed and neither is the fact that zuko is a completely changed person
this lack of development combined with the inconsistencies in mai's character traits are confusing. and i think that's why many fans of mai HC her as very emotive after she becomes free of azula/her parents but i guess i found it hard to view her that way bc its poorly developed
she ultimately chooses to sacrifice her LIFE for this man who has tbh left her in the dark, broken her heart multiple times, never explained his motivations/actions despite mai showing she is there for him. for someone who is so highly logical, this scene seems pretty illogical
and again, i know fans interpret this as her limitless love for zuko which is rlly cute obv!!!! i just personally didn't interpret it this way bc i feel like it isn't consistent with her core character traits + why she loves zuko soo much is not developed or touched up on at all
i stumbled upon this reddit post a while ago and felt that this would have been amazing for mai's arc. ignore the parts about jin/maiko (maikos just pretend they get back together after this or smth kjsffsj)
to me, two main traits of mai need to be addressed for her development: her apathetic demeanour and obviously her allegiance with the "bad guys". finally standing up to azula represents standing up to ALL the people who have controlled and forced her to repress herself
and this way she would have gotten an arc that did not wholly depend on her love for zuko. it would have stayed consistent with her character - as she finally decides to stand up against those who have been repressing her
although i am not a fan of the ship, this isnt meant to be an anti maiko thread. they could have 100% gotten back together after this like they did anyway. i just dont think her CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT should have been centered around him bc a lot of her key traits are changed when
she’s with him with little explanation as to why. i wish they retained her personality and centered her betrayal around HER own redemption and just had maiko on the side as a cute romance, not something so core to mai’s personality ig?
ultimately, i guess i interpret her differently bc her scenes with zuko seem a little ooc to me. i dont think after the boiling rock that she would become highly expressive and emotive (like she's seen with zuko) because being stoic is a core + strong trait she has.
i DO think she would speak up more, express her passions more etc bc obviously that's her whole character development. but this doesn't mean her key traits have to change or anything imo. so yea :) if you disagree feel free to DM or reply and thanks for reading! 
stan mai
stan mai
