Jeong Jeong


 * This page is about the character. For the episode, see "The Deserter".

"fire"

- Fire brings only destruction and pain. It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart.

Jeong Jeong, also known as The Deserter, was a strong, enlightened, yet embittered man who had seen more than his share of the cruel reality of the Hundred Year War. Once an honored admiral of the Fire Nation Navy, he disagreed with Fire Lord Ozai's oppressive and cruel way of ruling, and defected from the military. In doing so, he gained his famous title, "The Deserter". Because he was the first person to abandon the military and survive, he was considered a legend within the Fire Nation.

He lived in the Earth Kingdom wilderness in order to avoid Fire Nation soldiers and bounty hunters. He traveled with a small group of followers, including Chey, the second man to survive after deserting the Fire Nation military.

History
From a very young age, Jeong Jeong's teachers recognized that he was a firebending prodigy, and through diligent study and practice, he quickly developed into a true master in his teenage years. He eventually joined the navy and taught firebending to young soldiers, including Zhao. The future Admiral, however, did not acknowledge the dangers of firebending; he concerned himself only with using the art to destroy his opponents and neglected to learn about the discipline that came with it. After many years of watching his students wage war and cause destruction, Jeong Jeong began to question what he was teaching his students.

Ten years before he met Avatar Aang, Jeong Jeong deserted the Fire Nation Navy and vowed never to teach firebending again. Under constant pursuit by the military, he was forced to move from place-to-place and never settled in one area for more than one season. Years after his defection, Jeong Jeong came in contact with a tribe in the northwestern Earth Kingdom, and was declared a living god. They offered him residence at a small camp, where he stayed during the winter.

When Aang was brought by Chey to Jeong Jeong's camp in order to learn firebending, Jeong Jeong was furious, since it was clear to him that Aang was not interested in learning discipline. He could tell just by watching Aang walk into the camp that Aang had mastered neither waterbending nor earthbending, the disciplinary principles which would aid him in controlling the power of firebending, and thus refused to even see him. Defiantly, Aang sought out Jeong Jeong in a small hut, where he was depicted meditating beside a small tree, candles situated throughout the room.



Jeong Jeong reiterated his refusal and remarked on Aang's lack of discipline, referring to him as "weak". The flames of the candles around him flared intensively and then went out completely. Avatar Roku suddenly appeared before Jeong Jeong, demanding that he train Aang, and set the tree beside Jeong Jeong ablaze. After receiving this vision, Jeong Jeong reluctantly agreed to commence Aang's firebending training.

Jeong Jeong's teaching techniques rested heavily on discipline. Before he taught Aang how to firebend, he made sure that Aang learned discipline, so he would not unintentionally hurt anyone. Jeong Jeong instructed Aang to do breathing exercises for several hours; Aang became impatient, which greatly angered the master, who used Zhao, his former student, as an example of what could happen to one who did not learn the discipline associated with firebending. Aang quickly apologized and said that he was ready to comply with Jeong Jeong's orders.



Jeong Jeong then proceeded to instruct Aang in actual firebending, much to Aang's excitement. He was disappointed, however, when Jeong Jeong assigned him the simple task of preventing a leaf from being completely burned. Aang decided to create his own fire, and accidentally burned Katara's hands in an attempt to copy a magician's trick he had observed earlier. The accident reinforced the importance of Jeong Jeong's teachings of discipline when learning firebending. Shortly thereafter, Zhao and his men sailed up river toward Jeong Jeong's encampment in pursuit of the Avatar. Zhao was instead confronted by Jeong Jeong, who raised a wall of fire that stretched from the clearing of the riverbanks and across the river itself. The ships' progress was hindered; however, Zhao, aware of his former masters' reluctance to fight, was not deterred and simply walked through the wall of flames.

Jeong Jeong dissipated the wall completely, leaving no trace of wild fire to spread and harm the surrounding environment. Aang then arrived on the scene. With a grin, Jeong Jeong conjured up an immense mass of flames and disappeared. In response to this, Zhao commanded his men to search the forest for Jeong Jeong, leaving him alone to deal with Aang. The young Avatar, also reluctant to fight, dodged several of Zhao's attacks and ultimately tricked the overconfident Admiral into destroying all of his own ships, thus teaching him a valued lesson in discipline.



Intent on having Aang master the four elements and defeat Ozai, Team Avatar discussed the necessity of finding a new firebending teacher. Katara suggested the possibility of finding Jeong Jeong, though Aang remained doubtful, replying, "Yeah right. Like we'll ever run into Jeong Jeong again."

Before the Liberation of Ba Sing Se, Jeong Jeong returned and was revealed to be a member of the Order of the White Lotus. During Aang's battle with Ozai, Jeong Jeong, along with the rest of the Order, liberated Ba Sing Se. Jeong Jeong and Iroh both used the power of Sozin's Comet during the battle.

Personality


Jeong Jeong was a master at firebending. He conveyed conflicting feelings of firebending, referring to it as a "burning curse". He admitted in a conversation with Katara that he had always wished that he was a waterbender, since water is considered the element of healing, whereas firebending "brings only destruction and pain". His bitterness over his own ability has been repeatedly demonstrated by his behavior and character. Rarely smiling, Jeong Jeong preferred to be alone, in order to not harm others, but also because he seemed disappointed with the world. As an enlightened and embittered man, he often meditated alone and in the darkness, reflecting his dark view of the world and his firebending. He believed he could suppress his "burning curse" in this way.

However, in contrast, he referred to the sun as the greatest source of fire as it is in perfect harmony with nature. Jeong Jeong's technique seemed to reflect this quality by being both overwhelmingly powerful and non-destructive.

Abilities


Jeong Jeong was a greatly skillful master firebender; a former prodigy who was later recognized throughout the Fire Nation as a genius in its usage. However, his approach to fighting was very conservative, preferring to use the defensive side of his bending. He believed firebending to be a curse, a dangerous power that, generally, only causes destruction; thus, his style emphasized self-control, precision, and patience. His teachings to Aang demonstrated his philosophy of discipline, for Jeong Jeong believed that many firebenders, such as Fire Lord Ozai, and Admiral Zhao, drew all of their power from their anger and thus easily lost control of the flames. His own style was focused on slow development and constant return to the basics, which he made a point to impart to Aang. Nonetheless, Jeong Jeong demonstrated later that this attitude does not equate with weak or unsure firebending, but rather the opposite.

Although he did not demonstrate many of his abilities, Jeong Jeong seemed to specialize in the creation of walls of fire and large blasts. He first used this to fend off Zhao's river boats, controlling the wall so precisely the flames could burn on water as well as not endanger the nature of the surrounding area. Subsequently, he created a ball of fire that fended off four simultaneous fire blasts, and provided a distraction for him to flee. Later on, he was depicted surrounding an Aang-less Team Avatar with a large wall of fire. In addition, during the battle for Ba Sing Se Jeong Jeong's control of firebending became apparent once more when he created several fire walls to only push tundra tanks back, rather than melting them. This ability corresponded with his belief that firebending can be dangerous if not consistently controlled.



He was able to keep himself suspended in the air, by extending a jet of fire below his feet. His technique was different from Ozai's in that Jeong Jeong seemed to levitate rather than fly, and could execute other large firebending techniques without needing to land or cut off his propulsion.

His control of fire walls showed a very similar aspect with the waterbending Jeong Jeong seemed to envy so much, as he created the fire walls resembling rising tides to push tanks away like tidal waves do naturally.

Jeong Jeong's master firebending ultimately stemmed from his keen and experienced mind, as he was able to tell just from looking that Aang had not mastered waterbending and earthbending, thus making him unready to learn firebending. Better defined by his love for nature and acceptance of other cultures, Jeong Jeong had also achieved enlightenment, and was very in tune with spiritual things, much like Iroh. He demonstrated this attitude when he reluctantly obeyed Avatar Roku, who appeared to him in a vision, after being asked to teach Aang firebending.

Book Three: Fire (火)

 * "Bumi vs. Toph, Round One"

The Promise trilogy

 * The Promise Part 3 (vision, no lines)

Trivia



 * He was revealed to be a member of the Order of the White Lotus, despite not ever showing or hinting toward any affiliation to the organization, or even to the game Pai Sho.
 * Jeong Jeong had a more negative view of firebending than other characters, such as the Sun Warriors, although he shared the same belief that firebending must not be generated by anger.
 * Jeong Jeong was based on Jeong Jeong-gyun, the CEO of DR Movie, the animation studio which worked on this episode.
 * Jeong Jeong was originally from the navy, as suggested by his Fire Nation wanted poster; the Chinese characters state that he was an ex-admiral.
 * Jeong Jeong remained the only bender to regret their abilities.
 * Jeong Jeong was not featured in .
 * Jeong Jeong's original objection to teaching Aang firebending elaborated on the reason why the Avatar must master the elements in a certain order, first referenced by Katara, stating that Aang lacked the stable and firm control of earthbending, and also did not present the calm, smooth and flowing skill demanded by waterbending.
 * Jeong Jeong bore a strong resemblance to Colonel Kurtz in Ford Copolla's 1979 film Apocalypse Now, as he was a deserter apparently dissatisfied with the Fire Nation's policies and the war. He was also protected by natives and is in the company of another deserter Chey, who also bore a strong resemblance to the photojournalist who accompanies Colonel Kurtz.
 * Jeong Jeong used a metaphor of a fish in order to tell Aang he does not know his own destiny. This metaphor is based on a quotation of Albert Einstein: "What does a fish know about the water in which he swims all his life?"
 * Jeong Jeong is the second person shown to be able to use firebending to propel themselves into the air, but was only seen doing so under the power of Sozin's Comet.
 * Jeong Jeong's name was misspelled as "Joeng Joeng" in the Avatar Extras commentary for "Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno".