Jeong Jeong

"fire"

- But 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 referred to as the Deserter, is a strong, enlightened, but embittered man, who has seen more than his share of the cruel reality of war. Once an honored Admiral of the Fire Nation military, he disagreed with Fire Lord Ozai's oppressive way of ruling, and left the military. In so doing, he gained his famous title, "the Deserter". Because he was the first person to abandon the military and survive, he is considered a legend within the Fire Nation. He lives in the Earth Kingdom wilderness, so as to avoid Fire Nation soldiers and bounty hunters. He travels with a small group of followers, including Chey, the second man to survive leaving the Fire Nation military.

History
Jeong Jeong is sixty-one years old, has two vertical scars next to his right eye, and is a master firebender. However, he does not think highly of Firebending, referring to it as a "burning curse". In a conversation with Katara, he admitted that he had always wished that he were a waterbender, since water is considered an element of healing, whereas firebending "brings only destruction and pain".

Many years before Avatar Aang returned to the world, Jeong Jeong had a pupil, Zhao, who did not acknowledge the dangers of Firebending. Zhao was only concerned with using fire to destroy his opponents; he wasn't concerned with learning about the discipline that came with it, much to Jeong Jeong's disappointment.

When Aang was brought by Chey to Jeong Jeong's camp in order to learn firebending (in "The Deserter"), 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 not mastered Waterbending or Earthbending, the disciplinary principles of which would aid Aang in controlling the power of Firebending. Jeong Jeong only consented to teach Aang after receiving a chilling vision from Avatar Roku, through Aang's body.

Jeong Jeong's teaching techniques rested heavily on discipline. Before he taught Aang how to Firebend, he made sure that Aang learned discipline, so that he wouldn't unintentionally hurt anyone. Jeong Jeong instructs Aang to do breathing exercises for several hours; Aang becomes impatient, which greatly angers the master, who uses Zhao, his former student, as an example of what could happen to one who did not learn the discipline associated with Firebending. Aang quickly apologizes, and says that he is ready to learn Jeong Jeong's way.

Jeong Jeong then proceeds to teach Aang to use real fire, much to Aang's excitement; however, Aang is disappointed when Jeong Jeong assigns him the simple task of preventing a leaf from being completely burned. Aang decides to create his own fire, and accidentally burns Katara. The accident was another example of why Jeong Jeong's teachings of discipline are vital in learning Firebending.

Shortly thereafter, Zhao and his men showed up, and attack Jeong Jeong, who is able to escape under the cover of fire.

In "The Western Air Temple", Aang and the others discuss the necessity of finding a new Firebending teacher. Katara suggests they look for Jeong Jeong, to which Aang replies, "Yeah right. Like we'll ever run into Jeong Jeong again".

In "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters", Jeong Jeong returns and is 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, liberate Ba Sing Se. Jeong Jeong and Iroh both use the power of Sozin's Comet during this battle.

With the end of the war and the coronation of Fire Lord Zuko, it is likely that Jeong Jeong has received amnesty for his previous betrayal of the Fire Nation, as the betrayal had been in response to the oppressive nature of Fire Lord Ozai's authority.

Abilities
Jeong Jeong is an extremely powerful Firebender; however, his approach to fighting is very conservative. He believes Firebending to be a curse, a dangerous power usable only for destruction. Thus, his style emphasizes self-control, precision, and patience. His teachings to Aang demonstrate his philosophy of discipline, for Jeong Jeong believes that many Firebenders (such as Fire Lord Ozai, Admiral Zhao, and Princess Azula) draw all of their power from their anger and thus easily lose control of the flames. His own style is thus focused on slow development and constant return to the basics, which he makes it a point to impart to Aang. Nonetheless, Jeong Jeong demonstrates later that this attitude does not equate with weak or unsure Firebending, but rather the opposite.

Although few of his abilities are shown on screen, Jeong Jeong seems 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. Subsequently, he created a fire wall to to fend off four simultaneous fire blasts. In "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters", he surrounded Team Avatar with a large wall of fire, and later he created fire walls to push Fire Nation tanks around. Jeong Jeong seems to be able to control his firebending very well, as the fire walls he created only pushed back the Fire Nation tanks, rather than melting them. This ability corresponds with his belief that Firebending can be dangerous if not consistently controlled.

In "Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno", Jeong Jeong was shown to be able to keep himself suspended in the air, by extending a jet of fire below his feet. It is possible that he was only able to do this because of the Comet's power, as most Firebenders can only use this method for short bursts, with the possible exception of Azula and Fire Lord Ozai. However, given his vast experience and mastery of firebending, he shows no difficulty in executing it. Jeong Jeong's technique is different from Ozai's in that Jeong Jeong seems to levitate rather than fly, and can execute other large firebending techniques without needing to land or cut off his propulsion.

Jeong Jeong's master Firebending ultimately stems from his keen and experienced mind. He was able to tell just from looking that Aang had not mastered Waterbending and Earthbending, thus making him unready to learn Firebending. Jeong Jeong has also achieved enlightenment, and is very in-tune with spiritual things like Iroh; this attitude is seen when he unquestionably obeys Avatar Roku, who appears to him in a vision, to teach Aang Firebending.

Trivia

 * Jeong Jeong was the first person to desert the Fire Nation Military and survive.
 * Jeong Jeong was the first firebender that Team Avatar met who was not loyal to the Fire Nation.
 * He is a member of the Order of the White Lotus, despite never showing any knowledge of the organization or even the game, Pai Sho. This could be explained by Bumi's comment in Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters, in which he says "All old people know each other, don't you know that?"
 * Jeong Jeong provides the viewer with a more negative view of Firebending than is given by other characters in the series, such as the Sun Warriors. This may be because of his past experiences with his former pupil, Zhao.
 * Jeong Jeong was based Jeong Jeong-gyun, the CEO of DR Movie, the animation studio which worked on this episode.
 * It is never specifically stated if Jeong Jeong was originally from the Fire Army or Navy, but the fact that he trained Zhao may indicate he was from the Navy. This hypothesis is also suggested by his Fire Nation wanted poster; the Chinese states that he is an ex-captain.
 * Why Roku convinced him to teach Aang is unknown. However, given the nature of Jeong Jeong's personality, it may be assumed that Roku wanted Aang to learn the dangers of Firebending.
 * The first episode Jeong Jeong appears in, The Deserter, shares the name of a Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode; the two episodes have very much in common in terms of plot.
 * Jeong Jeong remains the only known bender to regret his or her abilities.
 * 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 lacks the stable and firm control of Earthbending, and also does not present the calm, smooth and flowing skill demanded by Waterbending.