Sa’luk’s death in Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
It’s one of the most brutal Disney villain deaths; right up there with the likes of Judge Doom, Scar, Frollo, Clayton, Syndrome and Dr. Facilier.
Making Kuruk just a lazy surfer dude was too one-dimensional.
The novel's reveal that he was secretly fighting dark spirits to clean up Yangchen's political messes is peak tragic storytelling.
He intentionally let the world hate him and think he was a failure just to protect Yangchen's legacy, destroying his own soul and lifespan in the process. That is a way heavier burden than just being bad at the job.
That moment hits because it flips Zuko from “chasing honor” to finally seeing what the Fire Nation actually did to people.
Before that, he understood the war mostly in abstract terms, honor, duty, the Avatar. But being forced to live among victims shows him the real cost of the empire led by Ozai.
That’s why it works so well:
he isn’t convinced by speeches
he isn’t redeemed by victory
he’s changed by experience and suffering
And yeah, the arc is so strong because it’s not just “good guy wins”it’s someone breaking down every belief they had, then rebuilding from nothing.
That’s why his redemption in Avatar: The Last Airbender still gets called one of the best in animation.