It doesn’t focus on Zuko and his needs. It focuses on Zuko redeeming himself individually to every member of the Gaang.

Honestly I kinda agree that's why I hate zuko not joining them in crossroad of destiny because he gets with them like the last 3 episodes of the show barely any time to develop their dynamic like they were able to do with toph mid season 2.

@DANNY PHANTOM1010 I agree that he should have joined during Crossroads of Destiny. By the end of the series it feels like he’s friends with everybody except Aang. But, if he had joined, The Beach wouldn’t have happened

I mean it still could've happened with azula and her friends. I'll admit aside from the gang vs combustion man I've never really cared for the beach that much even though it's a fun episode.

I think the opposite

I’d argue that The Southern Raiders is more focused on Katara coming to terms with her mother’s death. But, yeah, it’s a peeve of mine too.

While I agree that his relationships with each member of the Gaang individually is not very strong, his addition to the Gaang was extremely important to the plot because it showed how he has changed since S1, and fuels his redemption arc.

However, because the Sokka-Katara, Katara-Toph, Aang-Toph, Katara-Aang, Sokka-Aang, and Sokka-Toph relationships are very strong and well-defined, comparitively Zuko's relationships with Gaang aren't as well defined and could use further development and definition. But if you compare it to the relationships in LOK, his relationships are still pretty strong, and overall, the Gaang has a strong connection with one another (in my opinion).