#anyways i'm kind of mad that sokka and jet's resulting conflict is kind of glossed over

[listless-brainrot]

how exactly would you say jet and sokka are foils?? I never thought of it that way!

i’m so glad you asked anon!! ok ok so let me try my best to get my thoughts in order it’s been a while since i’ve touched on this! this got kinda long so lemme put it under a read more to save your dash:

(side note: a large majority of this analysis stems from what i believe is the original writers’ intent. the demonization and vilification of jet and his extremism  in order to portray sokka as someone morally superior/a better leader is something i personally don’t agree with. these are all just analyses and observations derived from the presented text, and that’s just something to keep in mind while reading this. the following is less my own opinion, and moreso me trying to extrapolate the writer’s intentions directly, as i can’t write this analysis without acknowledging said intent.)

so i’m gonna open this post with the idea that jet’s episode is inherently a sokka episode. the events that happen are to contribute to his development and the main conflict centralizes around him. i say this because of what the episode opens with: sokka struggling to prove himself as a competent leader to the rest of the gaang. this is early on in season one, so sokka hasn’t necessarily “proven” himself yet as the braniac, common sense leader guy who helps keep everyone else in line. emphasis on yet, hence where this episode comes in.

the beginning scene has the following exchange (thanks avatarspirit.net):

Sokka (to Aang): I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk. Katara: Who made you the boss? Sokka: I'm not the boss—I'm the leader. Katara (incredulous): You're the leader? But your voice still cracks! Sokka: I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior. (tries to speak deeper) So...I'm the leader! Katara: If anyone's the leader, it's Aang. I mean, he is the Avatar. Sokka: Are you kidding—he's just a goofy kid! Aang: He's right.

Katara: Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader? I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl. Sokka: I-I've kissed a girl—you...just haven't met her. Katara: Who? Gran-gran? I've met Gran-gran. Sokka: No—besides Gran-gran. Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot and a leader has to trust his instincts. Katara: Okay, we'll try it your way Oh Wise Leader.

here, we see sokka struggling to be taken seriously (mostly by katara). we get the sense that the others don’t see him in any sort of responsibile light. sokka, as of right now, is sort of in the role of “older brother who takes charge just because he’s the oldest”, and neither aang nor katara seem to really take this resulting attitude seriously.

enter jet.

jet is the self assured, confident, charming, adaptive, competent leader who is, as of right now, everything sokka is not. jet’s first introduction is he and the freedom fighters decimating a fire nation camp that they all stumbled into, and jet even takes down one of the soldiers he was trying to go after. this puts sokka in a light of incompetence. he then experiences jealousy and mistrust when jet is around, as aang and katara immediately trust this stranger’s judgement over his own, which is suspicious and arguably hurtful, especially when he has known aang and katara for much longer than jet has and has been trying so hard to prove himself to them, only to have all his efforts shoved off to the side the moment they meet some guy.

Jet: One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town. Katara: That's so brave. Sokka (Sarcastically): Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a treehouse. Katara: Don't pay any attention to my brother. Jet: No problem. He probably had a rough day.

something to note is just how one-sided this jealousy is- jet acknowledges that sokka is smart and has valuable skills, especially later on when he has him come along for a mission. a lot of sokka’s struggle in this episode is pretty internal, outside of the many times he has sarcastically commented about jet and shown visible disdain. he has nothing to actually hold against jet- as of right now, his biggest grudge is that jet is a better leader than him.

at least, until sokka’s suspicions of him are confirmed and his plans reveal themselves to be “nefarious”, and this is where the divide between jet and sokka becomes more clear.

i’ll just quickly recap what happens but jet: attacks and beats up an old fire nation man and presumably planted a knife on him and said he was an assassin, lied to and used both katara and aang to fulfill his own plans and hid his true intentions from the both of them, and he also attempted to destroy the village of gaipan that he was saving through flooding it and killing everyone in it.

more importantly, though, is that sokka discovers jet’s plans and spies on him, which eventually leads to this confrontation.

Sokka: I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town. Jet: Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation. Sokka: There are people living there Jet—mothers and fathers and children. Jet: We can't win without making some sacrifices. Sokka: You lied to Aang and Katara about the forest fire! Jet: Because they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do. Sokka: I do understand. I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want. Jet: I was hoping you'd have an open mind, but I can see you've made your choice. Jet: I can't let you warn Katara and Aang. Take him for a walk--a long walk. Sokka: You can't do this! Jet: Cheer up, Sokka. We're gonna win a great victory against the Fire Nation today.

here, we see a conflict of morality between jet and sokka, despite having a shared goal: to destroy the fire nation. this is a moment that the narrative is trying to show that jet is someone sokka could’ve become, should he lose sight of his own principles. sokka and jet are put in direct contrast with one another, and what follows is supposed to be a testament of that morality. we get to see the inner conflict of who is a good/better leader become an external one. 

sokka refuses to let the innocents of gaipan drown, even though there are fire nation present within the village. previously, sokka has been shown to be extremely quick to anger, especially when firebenders are even mentioned, much like jet. but here, he is refusing to let this happen because of his own morals and principles, which jet is shown to lack. he is being upstanding as a leader through his example and restraint, even when no one is around. he is defending what he believes is right, as is jet, except: the moment their views and beliefs don’t align, is when jet decides to turn on sokka.

and it takes the deception of jet and the severity of his actions for aang and katara to realize who they should’ve believed in and trusted.

Aang: Sokka's still out there—he's our only chance. Katara: Come on, Sokka. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Please.

the episode ends with the village flooded, but its occupants still alive, thanks to the actions of sokka, who took the time to warn and save these people he didn’t know, even though some of which were fire nation. sokka proves himself to be both selfless and competent, thus reaffirming his friends’ belief in both him and his leadership, which he has now proven to be just and sound.

unlike jet, who has shown that he leads through deception and lies, and as such, is not sokka.

as much as jet sokka could’ve been, jet can never be sokka because of what he lacks morally. and in this episode, sokka makes a conscious choice to ensure that he will not let himself become what jet has shown himself to be, now that he’s seen it, and is allowed to develop as a leader from that point on. 

tl;dr: sokka and jet are intentional character parallels, and jet services sokka’s development and growth as a leader through existing as his opposite.