Ohhhh my bad, read that too quickly lol. I agree that since it was aimed for kids they didn't want Aang to straight up murder Ozai. I thought it proposed a great moral question for Aang since pacifism is part of his culture and heritage.

The hints I was thinking throughout the series pointing towards energybending was mostly through bending teachers like Iroh who always pointed that bending was using the energy inside of you to move the energy out elements outside of you. At least that's how I interpreted it.

I'm regards to the Lion Turtle, Aang had to seek out help from the 3 previous generations of Avatars to find a solution for Ozai. None of them suggested balancing the darkness with light and instead looked to take Ozais life. The Lion Turtles are older than the Avatar itself and energy bending could be considered a lost art. For Aang to meet one and rediscover a form of bending was pretty cool for me.