Who do you think is smarter, Sokka or Azula?
well I suppose one’s answer depends on how they define intelligence. personally, I value intellect far less than I value one’s capacity for critical thinking, self-awareness, and empathy. I believe that those are the fundamental pillars that define one’s character, and whether or not they know many things and possess many skills matters far less to me.
sokka and azula have a lot in common. they’re both strategic, calculating, resourceful, creative, and most importantly, they both enjoy stupid puns. (also they’re both entps but u didn’t see me say that...) another thing they share in common is that they are deeply motivated by a desire to emulate their fathers, to be the strong, respected, infallible leader they see him as, and due to their subconscious worship of patriarchy, they consider any sign of vulnerability, even amongst those they supposedly trust, to be a weakness—and they consider any weakness a sure sign of failure.
now, crucially, sokka grows out of this mindset. he learns to open up and express his feelings, and he learns to be his own person. he realizes that his father is proud of him regardless of how great a warrior he is. sokka desperately wants to prove himself, but it is in realizing that he should follow his own path that allows him to fully self-actualize. (zuko gets it.) azula doesn’t.
by the end of the show, azula is only just realizing that her father does not truly love her, that he only sees her as a pawn, to be discarded when she is no longer useful. azula doesn’t know who she is outside of her abuse, and she never got the chance to self-actualize. due to the brainwashing she experienced all her life, she lacks true self-awareness, whereas sokka has only been growing more and more self-aware through the seasons. (he’s still far more insecure than he should be, but he’s getting there.)
sokka and azula are both extremely intelligent. there’s no denying that. but to frame it as who is more intelligent is folly. the better question is, who would win a game of pai sho? and the answer to that, of course, is that sokka beats azula easily. not due to her lack of skill, strategy, or cunning, but due to her hubris.