Prince Zuko became Fire Lord Zuko at the end of the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series.

The Fire Nation was in tatters. Responsible for the enormous damages from the Hundred Year War, there was so much to make amends for. Fire Lord Zuko’s job, then, was no easy task!

Given the fact that he had undergone an epic redemption arc throughout the series, it would be reasonable to presume that he would go on to be an excellent, morally upright Fire Lord. Well, it certainly wasn’t the “happy-ever-after” that you might expect.

Zuko’s character arc took some more twists and turns before he eventually passed Fire Lord duties onto his daughter, Izumi.

In fact, Zuko flirted with villainousness a few more times before his reign came to a close. He made some notable mistakes and bad choices while in power.

But did that make him a bad Fire Lord? Let’s explore that question…

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Good Ruler: Fire Lord Zuko Revolutionized the Fire Nation

Clearly, Zuko’s greatest challenge as Fire Lord was to save the reputation of his nation. The damage left by his predecessors would take at least a couple of generations to repair – he had a lot of work to do.

His first actions as Fire Lord included removing all of Ozai’s previously loyal officials in government from their positions and replacing them with progressive-minded individuals.

Next, he agreed to help usher in the Harmony Restoration Movement. This movement set out to remove all the Fire Nation colonies from the Earth Kingdom (and beyond). It’s purpose was to give those communities back to the people they belonged to before the Fire Nation empire of the previous 100 years.

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Fiore Lord Zuko The Good Ruler: He Recognized His Own Flaws

Fire Lord Zuko, despite having clearly good intentions, harbored a serious anxiety about himself. He saw potential within himself to become something like his father.

Fire Lord Zuko told Avatar Aang:

“If you ever see me turning into my father, I want you to … I want you to end me!”

Zuko to Aang, Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise (graphic novel).

Aang agreed. Prior to being Fire Lord, Zuko had been obsessed with regaining his honor … now, he was obsessed with retaining it!

The Harmony Restoration Movement (Not So Harmonious!!)

One of the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom, Yu Dao, resisted the Harmony Restoration Movement. When Zuko visited, he saw that the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom people had actually been living together harmoniously for many years.

In fact, some Earth and Fire people had bred and made families together.

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Good Ruler: Fire Lord Zuko Acted Based on Truth

Fire Lord Zuko, then, seeing folly in the idealistic Harmony Restoration Movement decided to revoke it.

This surprised Aang and Katara, who started a bit of a conflict with Zuko. But when Aang visited Yu Dao, he began to see the point that Zuko was making.

Bad Ruler: He Led the Fire Nation to War … again

Fire Lord Zuko became angry when the Earth Kingdom marched an army to Yu Dao in order to reclaim it. In response, he marched a Fire Nation army of his own to protect Yu Dao – threatening the possibility of another all-out with with the Earth Kingdom.

Fortunately, Avatar Aang intervened before the battle got too far out of hand.

Fire Lord Zuko turned to Aang, expecting him to fulfill the promise to “end” him if he became like his father. Leading an army to war, after all, was pretty Ozai-like!!

But Aang forgave Zuko, believing that he still had good intentions.

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Sidenote: He Found His Mother!

Fire Lord Zuko got back to his old ways and decided to undergo the search for his mother that he had wanted to undergo a long time before.

He permitted his sister, Azula, to come along with him. She blackmailed him with letters from their mother. In response, Fire Lord Zuko released her from the mental institution.

They found their mother in the village Hira’a. Zuko prevented the mentally unstable Azula from murdering her. After that, Azula escaped and disappeared for a while.

Fire Lord Zuko then took his mother and her new family home with him.

Challenges: The New Ozai Society

On the way home, the Fire Lord was ambushed by the New Ozai Society. Headed by Mai’s (Zuko’s girlfriend) father, Ukano, the society included Ozai’s old loyalists. They wanted to restore their old Fire Lord to the throne. Capturing Zuko was the first part of that plan.

Zuko escaped, but was faced with a number of assassination attempts in the following weeks/months.

Challenges: The Kemurikage

While the fire of the New Ozai Society raged, another problem arose for Zuko: the Kemurikage.

The Kemurikage was actually an old myth used by Fire Nation parents to scare misbehaving children. The story went that dark spirits – the Kemurikage – would kidnap and take away naughty kids.

After a series of kidnapping throughout the Fire Nation, the outlaws took Mai’s younger brother Tom-Tom … and Mai herself claimed to see the kidnappers. She said they looked like the Kemurikage.

As it turned out, Azula had banded together a team to help in her own mission. They had dressed up as the Kemurikage and started kidnapping kids.

Bad Ruler: He Forced the City into Lockdown

Zuko was growing extremely angry with the response of people in his kingdom to these events, and forcefully locked down the Nation.

In another confrontation with Azula, he was faced with some more harsh truths.

He expected that Azula wanted thr throne for herself; as it turned out, she wanted to change Zuko’s approach as Fire Lord.

She told him that she’d accepted that he destiny was not to become Fire Lord. So she had decided instead to influence Zuko into becoming a Fire Lord that ruled by fear. And judging by his behaviour recently, she felt she had succeeded in her mission.

Fire Lord Zuko succeeded in removing Azula’s Kemurikage threat and found the missing children. Then he reflected hard and eventually apologised to his nation for his poor behaviour of late. He promised to change his ways, once more.

Later Reign

Fire Lord Zuko’s decision to revoke the Harmony Restoration Movement turned out to be one of his best decisions as Fire Lord.

The example set by Yu Dao sowed the seeds for the future Republic City. That city would become the trading hub of the entire world, made up of people from all over the world. A monumental achievement, firmly in the contents of Zuko’s legacy.

Furthermore, Avatar Aang would regularly come to Fire Lord Zuko of Avatar-style advice. Zuko, it seems, became a wise soul akin to his Uncle Iroh!

Later on, Avatar Korra would also come to Zuko for advice. Of course, he obliged.

Abdicating the Throne

Zuko decided to pass the throne onto his daughter, Izumi. Decades of power was more than enough for him – especially since he didn’t actually want the throne in the first place.

Instead, Zuko took a role of simply ‘Lord’, in which he advocated world balance and protected the Avatar.

Legacy: Was Zuko a Good Fire Lord?

The answer is quite certainly yes. For sure.

Zuko made some mistakes – like heading to war with the Earth Kingdom, locking down the city in response to the Kemurikage. But what leader is ever void of mistakes?

Zuko was the perfect candidate for such a position of power, because he didn’t desire power. Azula desired power, and she would have made a vicious, horrible leader. The fact that Zuko had such a fear and wariness of what power can do to a person made him an excellent Fire Lord.

In the fictional Avatar universe, Zuko would certainly be remembered as an excellent Fire Lord. And to us fans, watching and reading the stories, I find it difficult to imagine that anybody would disagree with such an observation.

Zuko was a great Fire Lord! Let’s hope Izumi turns out just as good 😀

Azula is an extremely complex villain – and also a fascinating psychological case study!

She possessed a rare intelligence: like a chess player, she plans her every action strategically with a deep awareness of where each action might lead. Rarely caught off guard, always prepared for a vast array of possibilities. Azula was a girl in total control.

However, shaky foundations supported those extreme levels of self-control:

“Trust is for fools; fear is the only reliable way … even you fear me!”

Azula talking to a hallucinated image of her mother.
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book Three: Fire, Episode 20 (Sozin’s Comet Part 3: Into the Inferno).

Azula controlled, influenced, and outright manipulated people with the use of fear. But when people feared something more than they feared her – such as living a life with love – people turned their backs on her. Despite all of her prowess, excellence, and foresight, she was unable to overpower people’s desire for love.

Azula, then, is almost like a typical villain in a typical ‘good vs. evil’ story … emphasis on ‘almost’.

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Tragedy

Actually, Azula’s story is a genuine tragedy. Despite her obvious leaning towards the ‘evil’ end of the moral spectrum, Azula’s eventual downfall to insanity is really quite sad. Especially since there are signs throughout the series’ that her character has the potential to undergo redemption. As a viewer of the series and reader of the graphic novels/comics, I never wanted her to succeed in her missions. Yet, I still feel like I rooted for her throughout.

One of the great things about the Avatar franchise, in general, is that the lines between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are extremely blurry. Azula’s character reflects that theme beautifully.

This article will tell Azula’s story as if she was the main character. Perhaps you, dear reader, will root for her, too!

Without further ado: The Tragedy of Azula.

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Azula’s Life Story

Azula Before the TV Series

Early Life

Azula was born to her father Ozai and mother Ursa – a couple who couldn’t have been more different in personality types.

On the one hand, Ozai was an aggressive, power-hungry son of the Fire Lord. After Azula’s birth, he even stole the throne from his older brother Iroh, who would have been the Fire Lord by birthright. He influenced people by instilling fear into them, by use of his superior firebending.

On the other hand, Ursa was the sensitive, gentle granddaughter of the previous Avatar, Roku. In her worldview, love was more powerful than fear/anger. She hoped that she could pass such perspective onto her offspring.

Azula’s older brother, Zuko, used to happily play with her in her early years. But Azula began to resent him somewhat as she grew older.

She displayed natural firebending skills and instincts from a young age, whereas Zuko was an extremely slow learner. As a result, Ozai gave Azula much encouragement and positive feedback, while regularly scolding Zuko’s apparent weaknesses. Conversely, Ursa seemed to direct much more of her attention toward Zuko.

Azula, then, harbored beliefs that Ursa loved her less than she loved Zuko. Thus, resentment and a negative feeling colored the perception she had of her mother … and also of Zuko. The siblings’ relationship, in fact, would go on to be a quasi-continuation of their parents’ relationship.

Enjoying Zuko’s Plight

Azula regularly teased Zuko as they grew up. She once set his butt on fire for tattling on her after she set a bush on fire in the Royal Court’s gardens. Later, she tricked him into diving onto her friend, Mai, both of them falling into a fountain as a result.

But she even took a sadistic pleasure out of seeing Zuko treated harshly by their father.

One time, at dinner, Azula criticized her and Zuko’s firebending tutor, calling him a “dummy.” When Zuko defended the tutor, Ozai completely shut him down. He lambasted Zuko for having mastered 14 fewer firebending techniques than Azula, despite being 2 years older than her.

Ozai then told Zuko that he almost discarded him at birth because he was so underwhelming. Their father then told them that Azula was “born lucky,” whereas Zuko was “lucky to be born.”

Azula smiled victoriously at the devastaed Zuko. She displayed no sympathy for her emotionally-tortured brother.

She even teased Zuko when she overheard Fire Lord Azulon ordering their father, Ozai, to kill his first-born son.

“Dad’s going to kill you!

… really, he is ”

Azula to Zuko, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Two: Earth, Episode 7 (‘Zuko Alone’).

Zero remorse. Azula’s bitterness towards her brother, likely due to their mother’s preference of him over her, meant that she felt in competition with him. Victories like this one, where Ozai attacked Zuko, were always enjoyable for her.

Motherlessness: Ursa’s Banishment

A psychoanalyst would observe that Azula learned a lot from her parents’ relationship.

Ozai dominated Ursa. There are implications that Ozai even physically abused her. And in using his ability to strike fear into Ursa, Ozai always had the final say in decision-making.

Observing this, Azula learned that striking fear into people would be the most effective way to get what she wanted in life. She perceived Ursa’s tendency to show love instead of aggression as an ineffective approach … especially after she disappeared.

Ursa pleaded with Ozai to spare Zuko. Azula was not lying! Fire Lord Azulon genuinely ordered Ozai to kill his first-born son! Ursa, then, struck a bargain with him: she would leave the Fire Nation, never to come back, in return for Zuko’s life. Ozai agreed, and Ursa disappeared – considered “missing” by the rest of the Fire Nation.

This made Zuko’s life increasingly difficult, but Azula was freed from the criticisms of her moralistic mother. Ozai took Azula deeper under his wing. And Ozai, after poisoning his father, became Fire Lord soon after Ursa’s banishment.

Naturally, Azula grew up to become the cold, clinical, ruthless opponent she was always going to be. The scars of her motherlessness wouldn’t be visible for many years.

But more on that later … Years passed by, Azula turned 14 years old, and she was extremely powerful. Next, Ozai banished Zuko. And the events leading to Azula’s downfall were set in motion.

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Azula in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Two: Earth

Hunting for Zuko

Azula took great enjoyment in seeing her father burn the left side of Zuko’s face – permanently scarring him.

The Ozai banished Zuko (who was accompanied by fan-favorite Uncle Iroh).

Not long after that, when Ozai learned of Zuko and Iroh’s post-banishment antics, he branded them enemies of the Fire Nation. Then he honored Azula with the task of hunting them down to capture as prisoners.

Azula tracked down Zuko and Iroh with relative ease. And, in an attempt to trick them into coming aboard her ship, she convinced Zuko that his father wanted him home again. But then the captain of her ship accidentally referred to Zuko and Iroh as “prisoners” within their earshot. He ruined Azula’s facade! As a result, Zuko and Iroh quickly escaped.

Ozai’s Angels

Recognizing that she might need some extra help, Azula enlisted the help of her old childhood friends: Ty Lee and Mai. Together, “Ozai’s Angels” (as nicknamed by fans of the Avatar franchise) formed a seriously bad-ass trio!

While Azula recruited Mai in Omashu (a Fire Nation colony in the Earth kingdom), she sighted the Avatar for the first time.

In an attempt to capture him, Azula negotiated with Mai’s baby brother Tom-Tom. She was willing to allow her friend’s sibling to remain captive with their enemy in an attempt to take the Avatar prisoner. An approach typical of her cold, calculated attitude.

The ploy didn’t work, though. Lucky for Mai, the Avatar returned Tom-Tom to his rightful family (feeling morally obliged) before leaving Omashu and the threat of Azula.

Ozai’s Angels hunted and chased the Avatar for several weeks after that. Azula successfully tracked him but was eventually cornered by Team Avatar, supported by none other than Zuko and Iroh. Feigning a surrender, she caught her attackers off-guard by swiftly striking Iroh with a lightning bolt.

Sneaky. Lawless. Quick-minded. Azula: a force to be reckoned with.

Azula’s Coup of Ba Sing Se

Azula’s persistent energy was perhaps her most impressive trait in The Last Airbender series. Failing to capture Zuko and Iroh, followed by her failed pursuit of the Avatar, she never stopped making moves. Her attention turned, almost immediately, to the walls of Ba Sing Se.

This was a city her uncle Iroh had previously attempted to conquer but failed due to the defensive prowess of the city’s walls and the strong will of the city’s people.

Governance in Ba Sing Se, though, had slackened off since then. Azula tried to take advantage with the use of a giant drill. The drill reached the wall, but Azula’s plans were once again thwarted by the Avatar and his friends, who destroyed the great machine from the inside.

Not long after this disappointment, Ozai’s Angels met and defeated the Kyoshi Warriors in a battle. Following an impressive victory, they took the Kyoshi Warriors outfits as disguises and infiltrated the government of Ba Sing Se.

Due to Azula’s intelligent planning, they managed to fool the Earth King. Ozai’s Angels were about to conquer Ba Sing Se from the inside out – much like how the Avatar stopped her giant drill.

And after conspiring with the unfaithful Earth minister, Long Feng, Azula took control of the city. Not only that – she betrayed Long Feng and took control of his armed forces, the Dai Li. She was a legitimate conqueror, succeeding where her Uncle Iroh had failed during his previous attack on Ba Sing Se.

Crystal Catacombs: Killing the Avatar

While in a position of power, Azula arrested Katara of Team Avatar, who wanted to inform the Earth King about Zuko’s presence in Ba Sing Se. Azula went on to capture and arrest her brother, too, locking him up alongside Katara in the Crystal Catacombs beneath the city.

Despite her unfavourable treatment of Zuko, Azula managed to manipulate him back into helping her. When she seemed outnumbered and troubled in battle against Team Avatar, she convinved Zuko that she had imprisoned him in the Catacombs in expectation of this exact moment. She told him that this was his opportunity to regain his father’s honour. Zuko obliged.

And, in yet another display of her sharp mind and senses, Azula managed to strike the Avatar with lightning. Not only did she strike and seemingly kill him – she did so as he was in the Avatar State. The wound she inflicted upon him appeared to have been fatal. And the Avatar cycle should have been broken, due to him being in the Avatar State.

It was Azula’s crowning hour! She had conquered Ba Sing Se, got her brother back, and killed the Avatar. A Fire Nation Princess, indeed.

Azula in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Three: Fire

Returning Home

Even after such successes as she managed in Ba Sing Se, Azula did not stop. She continued to plot and scheme just as before.

The Fire Nation welcomed her and Zuko back as war heroes. However, sensing that her brother was hiding some information, Azula chose to credit the killing of Avatar Aang to him. Ozai, then, restored Zuko’s honour. But Azula was protected from any backlash, should the Avatar have somehow survived.

Typical of Azula’s plotting, this gave Zuko the impression that she was looking out for him while actually improving her own situation. Smart!

The Beach (Book Three: Fire, Episode 5)

This episode was perhaps the most significant in all of Azula’s character development.

It was the first time throughout the Avatar franchies that we saw true vulnerabilities in the Fire Nation Princess – and it was also the first time we saw any empathy from her.

Along with Zuko, Ty Lee, and Mai, Azula visited Ember Island for a holiday (that none of them really wanted).

Azula decided not to tell people they met that she was Princess of the Fire Nation. It would be interesting, she thought, to see how people treated her without that information.

As it happened, she found it extremely difficult to socialise under such circumstances. While playing a simple game of volleyball at the beach, she couldn’t curb her incessant competitive drive. When trying to flirt with a boy at a party, she repelled him with her rhetoric – the language of a Princess, it turned out, was far different from that of ‘normal’ people (who would’ve guessed it?!).

Later, though, when Zuko was asked to leave the party, she sought him out. In fact, Azula knew exactly where she would find Zuko in his moment of sadness and urged him to come join her with Ty Lee and Mai.

This was a fascinating moment because it suggested that Azula actually sort of cared about Zuko.

Okay, so she didn’t display such care again throughout the series! But the fact that she was able to display empathy this one time, at least, proves that she isn’t a psychopath … and also proves that her status as a villain is redeemable (hypothetically, at least).

Azula’s “Sob Story”

When Zuko, Ty Lee, and Mai recounted traumatic experiences from their childhoods, Azula considered their pain to be overdramatic.

But then she did something out of character: she spoke about traumatic experience of her own childhood. She calimed that her mother, Ursa, liked Zuko more than her. That her mother thought she – Ursa’s own daughter – was a monster. We see Azula’s face appearing to express suffering and regret at such memories.

“She was right of course, but it still hurt!” she then said, snapping back into the cold, unmovable personality that she had built herself upon for so many years.

This was smart foreshadowing of Azula’s destiny in this series. The childhood scars that Azula skilfully hid beneath her perfectly maintained hair were beginning to be revealed…

And this perspective actually raised a lot of questions about her childhood. Ursa was often portrayed as a morally upright person in the series. However, given Azula’s feelings on the topic, it seems quite possible that Ursa actually had a nasty streak of her own.

Is it possible that Azula was the biggest vicitim of the entire Avatar series? Perhaps that’s a bit much … but what happened to her next certainly supports such a theory…

Mai and Ty Lee Betray Azula

Following the end of her holiday in Ember Island, Azula helped to implement the Fire Nation’s plan to protect itself against an attack during the solar eclipse. The eclipse removed firebenders ability to bend, and enemies of the Fire Nation saw that as the perfect moment to fight.

Azula, though, was aware of this plan from her time undercover in the Earth Kingdom. Her slickness – once again – worked to the Fire Nation’s benefit.

But after this success, Azula’s sureness of self began to slip.

The obvious turning point towards her deterioration was when Mai – one of her sole, trusted allies – betrayed her in favour of Zuko. During the solar eclipse, Zuko had turned against the Fire Lord and left the Fire Nation to join Team Avatar. When he was helping Sokka to save his father from the Boiling Rock (Fire Nation prison), Mai prevented Azula from making the move that would’ve stopped and possibly killed Zuko in completing his mission.

“You miscalculated – I love Zuko more than I fear you”

Mai to Azula, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Three: Fire, Episode 15 (‘The Boiling Rock, Part 2’)

And when Ty Lee chose to take sides with Mai, chi-blocking the Fire Princess, Azula’s self-control began its disintegration.

Hallucinations

Azula’s father, Ozai, named her as the new Fire Lord, to rule the Fire Nation – which happily surprised her. Ozai, meanwhile, promoted himself to a position he invented for himself: the Phoenix King – supreme ruler of the entire world.

Despite such a success, Azula’s mental health plummeted.

Likely as a result of her friends’ betrayals, she grew suspicious of almost everybody around her. She banished some of her servants, she banished Lo and Li – her personal agents from the Dai Li – and even banished the Royal Procession (elite firebenders who had traditionally served the Royal Family for years).

Just before her coronation as Fire Lord, Azula struggled to style her hair the way she wanted it. In a mild rage, she cut off her fringe. As she did, her mother appeared to her in the mirror:

“What a shame! You always had such lovely hair!”

Azula’s hallucinated image of Ursa, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Three: Fire, Episode 20 (‘Sozin’s Comet Part Three: Into the Inferno’).

Azula engaged with her hallucination fairly naturally. It was as if seeing her mother came as no surprise, in fact (could that suggest that she had hallucinated such things before?).

In an expression of the philosophy that had driven her life to that point, Azula shouted at her mother.

“Fear is the only reliable way … even you fear me,” she said…

… to which her mother replied: “No, Azula. I love you. I do.”

This brought a tear to Azula’s eye. She then proceeded to throw her hairbrush at the image of Ursa, smashing the mirror to bits.

Azula was literally going insane.

Comet-Enhanced Agni-Kai

Azula was confronted by Zuko and Katara right before her coronation. In response, she challenged her brother to an Agni Kai – “the showdown that was always meant to be.” To her credit (and despite her questionable sanity) this was a smart move on Azula’s part. Outnumbered, she knew she couldn’t defeat Zuko and Katara. But one-on-one she stood a much better chance.

Zuko agreed, telling Katara that he thought he could manage to fight her alone. “Something seems off about her,” he said (oh really, Zuko?!).

Azula’s fighting was wild and unpredictable, although perhaps even more dangerous than before. Zuko’s fighting style, however, was relaxed and controlled. And for the first time in their young lives, Zuko got the better of his sister.

She surrendered. But, as we should know by now, that didn’t mean she had stopped fighting! Azula shot a bolt lightning at Katara who was stood to one side. Before he could strike her, though, Zuko dived and took the strike himself. Katara then proceeded to battle Azula herself.

Katara outsmarted the deranged Azula, chaining her to the floor. Chained up and her physical control taken from her, Azula’s deterioration was complete.

Azula breathed fire all over the place, without any degree of control, while crying manically. The Tragedy of Azula, and her fall, reached its lowest point.

Mental Institution: Admission and Release

Azula was locked in a mental institution following the defeat of the Fire Nation. Zuko pitied Azula for her descent into insanity and decided an instituion would be a better match than the prison he’d sent his father to.

After about a year of life in the asylum, Zuko visited her to discuss the whereabouts of their mother.

At this point, Azula had actually made friends with some of the inmates and displayed relatively compliant behaviour.

Zuko asked if she’d be interested in helping him to find their mother again. He requested for her to engage their father in conversation. Azula agreed.

But she later refused to tell Zuko what had been said between her and Ozai.

Avoiding Zuko’s cross-examinations, she asked him if he’d ever been chi-blocked. Zuko told her he hadn’t been. She then explained that one’s flexibility is significantly increased moments before their bending returns after a chi-block … and she demonstrated by escaping her straitjacket.

Shooting lightning at Zuko, she escaped.

Azula headed to an old secret passageway of Ozai’s. There, she knew, some undelivered letters of Ursa’s during her missing years had been stored. Azula burned all the letters, except for one – which contained information suggesting that Zuko was not Ozai’s son.

Zuko demanded information about the letter, but Azula – in old-fashioned Azula style – negotiated with him.

She agreed to tell him what the letters said … but only if he allowed her to join him on his hunt for their mother.

Joining Team Avatar’s Ursa Mission

Zuko eventually submitted to Azula’s demands, and the former Princess of the Fire Nation joined up with her former foes – Team Avatar.

In the early stages of the mission, Azula and Team Avatar (predictably) didn’t get along well. She underwent conflicts with Katara and Sokka, eventually insisting that everyone keep away from her.

Rumours of Ursa’s journeys post-banishment led them to Hira’a, where she had grown up.

During that journey, however, Azula behaved erratically. She hallucinated images and voices of Ursa more and more, acting unpredictably, and generally making a nuisance of herself. She even jumped off Appa, the flying bison, mid-flight in an attempt to escape.

Clearly, travelling with Team Avatar wasn’t going to be a smooth-sailing journey…

Saving Team Avatar

One evening, Azula hallucinated Ursa in a river reflection. She argued intensely with the image of her mother, revealing a secret plot that she had devised to murder her when she met with her.

Then Azula declared, mid-rage, that she was intent upon revealing Zuko as an illegitimate heir to Ozai’s throne. She planned to use Ursa’s letter as evidence and take the throne for herself.

Zuko arrived soon afterwards and asked who Azula had been talking to. She reacted defensively, attacking him and causing Katara to contain her with ice-bending. Azula then proceeded to accuse Team Avatar of conspiring with Ursa to nullify her extraordinary power.

But the group were attacked by a Wolf Spirit as she protested. The spirit spat wasp moths at them, which Team Avatar struggled to deal with. At this, Azula convinced Zuko to free her from the ice. He did so … and she defeated the Wolf Spirit.

Saving Team Avatar provided another new perspective of Azula’s personality. It was another hint that her character could be redeemed.

Later that night, Zuko saw his sister shivering and talking to herself in her sleep. He covered in a blanket, suggesting that he felt Azula does, indeed, have ‘good’ within her. Zuko still held out hope for her.

However, Zuko also found the letter Azula was hiding…

Azula Fights Zuko Again; Arriving in Hira’a

Zuko was, of course, stunned by the contents of the letter. Ozai not being his real father would have meant Zuko was an illegitimate Fire Lord – a bastard.

Azula, meanwhile, woke up to hallucinate Ursa again. Ursa told Azula to accept that she was not destined to be Fire Lord. But Azula acted out angrily, once again. And she quickly turned her anger towards Zuko when she realized the letter was missing…

She accused Zuko of conspiring with Ursa to thwart her and proceeded to attack him. Zuko, though, insisted that she stopped fighting with him.

“Why do we always have to be like this?” he asked her. She eventually agreed to make a sort of peace with, and they undertook the last stages of the journey to Hira’a.

In Hira’a, they met a man named Noren who invited the team into his home. There, they met his wife Noriko and their daughter Kiyi.

Azula became angry (again) when the group criticised her (again). She told Kiyi – who was around 4 years old – that she used to give her dolls a “headcut” instead of a haircut. And then she offered to give one to Kiyi’s own doll. It should go without saying, but Kiyi was a bit freaked out by that…

The Forgetful Valley and The Mother of Faces

As tensions flared up between Azula and Katara (whose motherly instincts apparently kicked in), Zuko decided that, after the team visited the Forgetful Valley, they would end the mission.

More drama inevitably ensued in the valley – of course it did! But Avatar Aang eventually meditated himself into the spirit world and brought a spirit back with him. The Mother of Faces.

It was from this spirit of the Forgetful Valley that Azula and Zuko learned about their mother, Ursa.

The Mother of Faces had given Ursa a new face: the face of Noriko. And memories of her previous life had been erased.

They soon realized that it was Ursa whose home they had been welcomed into back in Hira’a. Azula almost immediately burst to get back to Hira’a and to Noriko. Zuko and Sokka sensed something bad might be about to happen, so they chased after her.

Azula Attacks Her Mother

Immediately, Azula broke into Noren and Noriko’s home to confront her mother.

She was ready to kill Noriko/Ursa, when her mother apologised to her:

“I’m sorry I didn’t love you enough”

Noriko/Usa to Azula, Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Search, Part Four (graphic novel).

Azula teared up, hesitating, when Zuko separated her from their mother. Naturally, Azula attacked Zuko again – and scolded him for not giving up the throne to her. After all, she asserted, he didn’t want the throne anyway.

Zuko refused to give up the throne, though, and Azula ran off into the Forgetful Valley. Her brother searched for her in the ensuing weeks, but didn’t find her. Azula, it was clear, didn’t want to be found.

It was also revealed that Zuko was Ozai’s son, in fact. When Ursa’s memories were restored, she explained that she lied in the letter to her ex-husband.

Disguised as The Kemurikage

It was quite some time before Azula appeared again.

But during her time in the Forgotten Valley, Azula’s mental health recovered, to some extent. Her conduct when returning to the Fire Nation served as evidence of that. But during her time away, a number of things changed in her outlook.

She accepted that she would never become Fire Lord. Azula also accepted Noriko’s child, Kiyi, as her own blood. She even stopped being loyal to Ozai! But most significantly, she stopped hallucinating.

What she didn’t do, though, was fulfil any sort of redemption arc! Nevertheless, she got back to something like her previously cunning self.

In doing so, Azula devised a plot. The beginnings of the plot included the recollection of how her old friend, Mai, used to have nightmares about the Kemurikage.

The Kemuriage were mythical dark spirits. Fire Nation parents used to scare misbehaving children with this story (including Mai). They explained that the Kemurikage would take them away if they were disobedient. Azula, along with the followers that she enlisted, decided to disguise herself as the leader of such spirits. With her team, she kidnapped several children … including Mai’s young brother, Tom-Tom.

After that, she even attempted to kidnap her half-sister, Kiyi. But Zuko and others caught her in the act.

Azula revealed her identity by shooting lightning at her brother, who redirected her attack habitually … only for Azula to redirect it back at him. A fascinating development in the evolution of their conflicts!

Azula eventually succeeded in kidnapping Kiyi and locked her away.

Last Appearances (so far!)

Azula worked in alliance with Mai’s father, Ukano, who was still loyal to her father, Ozai. Ukano’s ‘New Ozai Society’ had attempted (and failed) to capture Zuko a number of times, with the desire to overthrown him and install Ozai on the throne.

Azula’s plan, however, was not consistent with Ukano’s desires. She was using Ukano to put pressure on her brother, Fire Lord Zuko.

In another battle with Zuko, Azula revealed what her intentions had been while disguised as the Kemurikage.

She told Zuko that she no longer desired the throne – instead, she wanted to turn Zuko into a leader who rules by fear, not love. And moreover, she told Zuko that she believed she had succeeded. During the kidnappings and attempts on his life, he had begun to rule much more like Ozai had ruled before him – and Azula’s words really struck a chord with the young Fire Lord.

After their battle, Zuko and Mai recover the kidnapped children. But Azula disappeared once more, in a cloud of smoke.

Her final appearance showed her dressed as the Kemurikage and watching Zuko give a public address to his people, from a nearby rooftop. What happened to Azula after that is yet to be revealed. Rest assured, though! This page will be updated as soon as any updates come to fruition 🙂

Closing Thoughts

Azula was a memorable villain, more so even than the series’ main villain (Ozai).

She’s intelligent, crafty, humorous, beautiful, and just a outright bad-ass! Okay, so she was a snide, calculating, daughter of a dictator … but she was that way in the most likable manner imaginable.

There is still much hope among fans of the series that she might be redeemed from her villain status. It would be a long journey for Azula, especially given the events during the graphic novels.

But the potential is there. And I’m sure such a story would sell extremely well!

Here’s to you, Azula!

Zuko is arguably the most popular character in the entire Avatar franchise. And it’s easy to see why when you consider his journey through the series.

The story arc of the Fire Nation prince is probably the most complex of any character in the series. He first appears as the main antagonist, winding up as one of the main heroes.

The story most people know is Zuko’s story as depicted in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series. And that’s understandable. The most engaging elements of his story are arguably from that series, anyway.

But the reality of Zuko’s story is NOT the simple “happily-ever-after” implied at the close of The Last Airbender. The complexities become even deeper in our anti-hero’s journey later in his life.

This article re-tells Zuko’s life story. You can use the contents to skip to any particular time during Zuko’s life that you most wanted to read about. And for a summary of Zuko’s legacy, then skip to the last section of the article.

Enjoy! 🙂

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Zuko’s Life Story

Zuko Before The Last Airbender

Birth

Zuko’s father, Ozai, was the second-born son of Firelord Azulon and the grandson of Firelord Sozin. But Ozai had ambitions of power, despite his older brother, Iroh, being true heir to the throne. Zuko’s mother, Ursa, was the granddaughter of Avatar Roku (the Avatar that preceded Aang).

Understanding Zuko’s family tree is essential to understanding the complexities of his character. It is at the very core of his conflicts. But more on that later…

Zuko, although powerful as a firebender when we met him in Avatar: The Last Airbender, didn’t show bending skills until much later than most newborns. He apparently lacked the “spark in the eye” of firebending infants, a fact that caused great anger and disappointment in his demanding father. Ozai was ready to kill the child, such was his disappointment at his own son’s shortcomings. Ursa, Zuko’s mother, intervened to prevent Ozai’s disposal of Zuko – the only reason he stayed alive. Amazingly, that wouldn’t be the last time her actions saved Zuko from his father. But more on that a little later…

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The Eagle and the Turtle-Crab

As he grew up, the family sometimes took holidays to Ember Island – memories Zuko remembered as the few happy experiences he had growing up. On one such holiday, as a three-year-old, Zuko witnessed an eagle attacking a turtle crab. He saved the turtle crab from being eaten by the eagle. It was one of Zuko’s first displays of empathy.

But Zuko looked back at the eagle. It occurred to him, then, that predators such as eagles would starve without eating other animals: deep-rooted moral conflicts grappled within the young Prince for the first time.

Just then, a wave surprised him and pulled him into the ocean. He drowned and became unconscious. But Ozai actually saved his life, retrieving him from the water. Ozai was angry all the same, perceiving weakness in Zuko’s mind. That his son was concerned so much with helping the needy disappointed the future Fire Lord. For the rest of the day, Ursa comforted Zuko while he vomited sea water. Zuko’s mother, so often, was the only consolation in his harsh upbringing.

Ember Island was the only place where Zuko remembered feeling part of a family. Clearly, though, it wasn’t all happy-families for him there…

Growing Up with Azula

Zuko’s sister, Azula, is an extraordinarily cold and clinical villain throughout the Avatar franchise. As a child, she displayed natural intelligence as well as skill in firebending – Ozai’s dream child, you could say. Her emergence as a infant prodigy estranged Ozai even further from his firstborn, Zuko. Taking Azula under his wing, the girl would grow to be as much a frightening prospect as Ozai himself.

Naturally, then, Zuko didn’t draw much comfort from having a younger sister. Quite the opposite. There were several instances where Azula made his life more difficult than it already was.

She once set his butt on fire for telling their mother about her setting a bush on fire (I must admit, I did laugh a little bit at that one!!). Another time, she devised a plan after noticing a mutual attraction between Zuko and her friend, Mai. Azula’s plan consisted of setting an apple on fire atop Mai’s head, knowing that Zuko would act to protect her – and act he did! In trying to knock the apple off her head, Zuko knocked her into a fountain and landed on top of her. Azula and Ty Lee laughed at their misfortune, with Azula also telling Ty Lee: “I told you it would work!”

Their mother would often bemoan Azula’s ruthlessness. Her own mother thought of her as a “monster,” Azula herself would later reflect. Ozai was thrilled by her natural flair, conversely.

“You Were Lucky to be Born”

Azula once described her’s and Zuko’s firebending teacher as a “dummy” during a family dinner.

Zuko responded: “He’s not a dummy! He just thinks that proper firebending technique has to start –“

But Ozai cut him off.

He snapped at Zuko. Azula had mastered 14 more firebending techniques than Zuko had at that point, despite being two years younger.

Ozai’s went on to tell Zuko that he was lucky to be born, whereas Azula was born lucky.

Fierce words from a fierce father…

Positive Male Role Models

Ozai wasn’t the only male influence in Zuko’s life, though (luckily).

Piandiao – who later taught Sokka (of Team Avatar) the art of swordsmanship – taught Zuko to fight with two broadswords. Piandiao encouraged Zuko to nurture his great potential. Ozai was unable to even recognize that potential.

But it was his uncle Iroh – “the Dragon of the West” – who was clearly Zuko’s most notable male influence.

Iroh recognized that his younger brother, Ozai, treated Zuko harshly. He kept an instinctive eye on poor Zuko whenever he was around. After his own son, Lu Ten, died in battle, Iroh grew even more attached to his dear nephew. In essence, Iroh treated Zuko like his own son.

It was unfortunate for Zuko that Iroh was so often occupied as a War General during his childhood. The confidence boosts Zuko so needed throughout a childhood riddled by put-downs from his father and sister may have come regularly from a consistently present uncle Iroh. Notably, however, Iroh did send Zuko a dagger which had the words “Never Give Up Without a Fight” engraved into it – a gift that Zuko would hold dear for many years. It was gestures like this that would stick with Zuko during challenging times

Uncle Iroh’s influence would go on to be a crucial factor in Zuko’s character arc, as you will soon see. But not before Zuko received even crueler treatments from his father…

Azulon Calls for Zuko’s Sacrifice

When Zuko’s uncle was still known as General Iroh, his son, Lu Ten, died in battle. Iroh subsequently retreated from his siege of Ba Sing Se as a result of his utter heartbreak. His motivation for battle had all but fizzled out. Ozai subsequently called for a meeting with his father – Fire Lord Azulon.

During the meeting, he bid Azula showcase her firebending skills and war strategy nous to impress the Fire Lord. Feeling left out, Zuko volunteered to showcase his own firebending skills. But he embarrassed himself, falling flat on his face during his demonstration.

Unimpressed, Azulon dismissed Zuko, Azula, and Ursa (who comforted Zuko in his embarrassment) to speak in private with Ozai. Azula and Zuko eavesdropped on this meeting, though … and didn’t expect to hear what they heard.

Ozai requested that he be made Azulon’s new heir to the throne, given Iroh’s loss of a natural heir to carry on his own line. Azulon was disgusted. He told Ozai that he should learn to understand Iroh’s suffering. At that point, Zuko ran away – frightened by what he might hear next. Azula, though, stayed to listen to the juicy details.

Azulon asserted that the only way Ozai could understand Iroh’s suffering is if he lost his own first-born son. The implication, of course, was that he should sacrifice the underwhelming Zuko.

Ursa’s Sacrifice

When Azula proudly told Zuko and his mother about Azulon’s request, Zuko refused to believe it. Ursa, meanwhile, went to speak directly with Ozai.

Given their poor relationship, Ursa could only negotiate with Ozai. She eventually agreed to leave the Fire Nation and never return if he would spare Zuko’s life. Ozai reluctantly agreed.

As of the next day, the kingdom assumed Ursa missing or dead. As for Zuko, his only consistent source of love had left him at just 11 years old. He wouldn’t learn any more about her disappearance for many years.

Banishment

And Zuko’s emotional turmoils didn’t end there.

Two years later, after Ozai had taken his place as Firelord, Iroh permitted Zuko to join the other generals in a war meeting. Iroh insisted that Zuko keep quiet during the meeting, but Zuko – a fiery teenager – couldn’t resist. He criticized the proposed strategy of an established war general, infuriating his father, Fire Lord Ozai.

As we’ve seen, it never took much to trigger Ozai’s pent-up anger at Zuko. But what happened next nobody could’ve expected. Ozai called Zuko to fight in an Agni Kei – a combative firebending duel for the honor of the participants. Zuko agreed … but didn’t realize that it was his own father that he’d be dueling.

Zuko begged his father not to fight him, down on his knees. But the Fire Lord proceeded to burn his son’s eye, leaving the permanent scar that is synonymous with Zuko’s character in the Avatar franchise.

Ozai then stripped Zuko of his birthright and banished him from the Fire Nation. Ozai told him that he must capture the Avatar if he were to regain his honor. A virtually impossible task considering the fact that the Avatar hadn’t been sighted for almost 100 years.

Still, Zuko set forth. Fortunately for him, his uncle Iroh couldn’t bear to see his dear nephew roaming the world lost and alone. So he joined the Prince in the obsessive search for the Avatar that followed…

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Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender (Book One: Water)

Avatar Hunting

For two years, the banished Prince searched all over the world for the Avatar. He looked in all the four air temples and in the most obscure of places, leaving not a rock unturned.

While sailing close to the Southern Water Tribe, Zuko noticed an ethereal blue light in the distance – shooting from the ground up into the sky. He instinctively knew that a phenomenon so powerful couldn’t have come from anything but the Avatar … and how right he was.

Not long afterward, he saw a flare coming from an old Fire Nation shipwreck. He looked closer with his telescope. And there he was: The Last Airbender. It surprised Zuko to see him floating over the shipwreck like a young whippersnapper, though. After all, the Avatar ought to have been more than 100 years old by that point.

The Avatar moved towards a nearby Water Tribe village with a Water Tribe girl; Zuko pursued him.

Avatar Aang handed himself over. Finally, Zuko felt he would be able to earn his father’s respect! But Katara and Sokka atop Appa, the flying bison, saved the Avatar after the ship has set sail. It wouldn’t be the last time Zuko’s Avatar hunting would disappoint him so much, either.

Zuko frustratedly continued that chase of Aang for the majority of Book One: Water. His pursuit was not without distraction, though…

Agni Kei with Zhao

Zuko and his uncle Iroh crossed paths with Zhao – Commander of the Fire Nation Navy and a powerful firebender. Zuko hoped to avoid such an audience. But their ship needed repairs after the battle during Avatar Aang’s escape. When they found Zhao’s fleet, there was no choice but to ask for help.

Realizing that Zhao would certainly try to capture the Avatar for himself, Zuko urged Iroh to help conceal knowledge of the Avatar’s return from the Commander. But Zhao knew something was wrong. He had Zuko’s crew interrogated and learned of their mission.

Zhao then asserted that the task of capturing the Avatar was too important to entrust to a teenager. Naturally, Zuko angrily challenged the Admiral to an Agni Kai.

To be fair, though, Zuko handily defeated Zhao. He even also spared the Commander’s life at the end of the duel. But Zhao attacked Zuko as he walked away. Uncle Iroh blocked his cheap shot, though. Iroh then told Zhao that, even in banishment, Zuko was honorable than he was. Zuko clearly appreciated the encouragement from his loving uncle.

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The Blue Spirit: Rescuing the Avatar

It dismayed Zuko to learn that what he hope to prevent had come to fruition … Commander Zhao succeeded in capturing the Avatar.

In response, Zuko dressed up as ‘The Blue Spirit’, sneaking riskily into Zhao’s quarters and ‘rescuing’ the imprisoned Avatar. He couldn’t stand the idea of Zhao delivering the Avatar to his father. That would ruin the chance of Zuko himself regaining his honor by completing the task his father had set him. It would only be another reason for his father to deem him surplus to requirements.

After their escape, Aang soon realized that the Blue Spirit that helped him escape was none other than his nemesis, Zuko. Aang suggested that the two of them could be friends … but Zuko attacked him. Aang quickly escaped but it wouldn’t be long before their paths crossed again…

Capturing the Avatar

Zhao destroyed Zuko’s ship after learning that he was responsible for the Avatar’s escape. But Zuko managed to evade Zhao’s notice while hiding aboard the commander’s ship.

Zuko eventually managed to escape the ship and captured Avatar Aang while he meditated into the spirit world.

He tied the Avatar up and carried him on his shoulder while trekking across the treacherous iced-over landscape around the North Pole. As the ground broke beneath his feet, Zuko sought refuge in a cave. There, he spoke to the unconscious Avatar, giving air to his turbulent emotional past.

Zuko pointed out the irony that, when he finally captured the Avatar, a snowstorm stood between him carrying him to the Fire Nation. Then he compared Aang to his sister, whose life, he explained, always went smoothly and according to her plans. And he referred again to his father’s harsh statement that Azula was born lucky while Zuko was lucky to be born – then going on to claim that he doesn’t need luck.

“I’ve always had to struggle and fight, and that’s made me strong. It’s made me who I am.”

Zuko, in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book One: Water, ‘The Siege of the North Pt. 2’ (Episode 20)

When Aang returns to consciousness, though, he attacks and traps Zuko under a pile of heavy snow. Team Avatar turns up to save him, but Aang insists on saving Zuko from under the snow – recognizing that his foe would surely die if they did nothing.

Zhao’s Death

During the Siege of the North, Zuko attacked Zhao again for trying to kill him. But Zhao got dragged to his death by the hand of the great water spirit, La, combined with Aang in the Avatar State. Zuko offered a hand to pull him back to safety, but the stubborn Admiral refused.

After the battle, Zuko left the scene with his uncle Iroh. It took Iroh by surprise that Zuko no longer seemed obsessed with capturing the Avatar. “I’m tired,” Zuko told Iroh.

“A man needs his rest,” Iroh explained, as Zuko – worn out – lay back and fell asleep.

Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Two: Earth

Azula Inviting Zuko Home

Princess Azula tracked down Zuko and Iroh – now branded as traitors by Firelord Ozai – convincing Zuko that his father wants him back home again.

Excited at the prospect of being back in his father’s favour, and of going home, Zuko happily joins Azula on her ship. But when the captain of Azula’s ship accidentally refers to Zuko and Iroh areas “prisoners,” the Prince and his uncle realise that they need to escape Azula’s grasp.

Their ties and links to the Fire Nation: completely severed. Using the dagger Iroh had gifted to Zuko as a boy, the pair cut off the topknots of their hair. They realized that it was time to assume new identities separate from their royal heritage.

Zuko Alone

The pair traveled through the Earth Kingdom together, with Iroh begging for change and Zuko dressing up again as the Blue Spirit to steal food from locals.

After growing frustrated with Iroh’s passiveness, Zuko decided to leave his uncle behind and pursue his own path. In the popular episode ‘Zuko Alone’ (Book Two: Earth, Episode 7), he worked with a poor Earth Kingdom family who regularly struggled in dealing with the local soldiers. Despite actually being Earth Kingdom soldiers, they treated local people poorly. When Zuko stood up to a group of those soldiers, local people display real gratitude toward him. He is fed and sheltered by the family, forming a close emotional bond with their young son, Lee.

Zuko had regular flashbacks to his childhood during this, the first time he had spent away from his life as a Fire Nation prince. He remembered Azula’s tormenting; his father’s cruelness; his mother’s love.

He realized, in the present, that he would need to move on eventually. And Zuko left the young Lee a parting gift: the pearl dagger that Iroh had gifted to him as a child.

Reminiscent of David Carradine’s Kwai Chang Caine in Kung Fu, Zuko slumbered (like a true nomad) in a humble pile of hay. But Lee’s mother unexpectedly awoke him. She told him that the village soldiers stormed their home, demanding food, and her son pulled a dagger – the one Zuko had gifted to him – in defense. With a sense of obligation, Zuko returned to the village.

He bravely fought the soldiers alone, without the use of firebending. But the large group overwhelmed and knocked him down. After another flashback – of his mother telling him “never forget who you are” – Zuko awoke and defeated the soldiers with his firebending.

Despite his help, the town – including the family he had returned in order to help – turned against him. He fled the village once more, with glares of hatred burning in the back of his head from the villagers he left behind.

Back to Iroh

Zuko’s experience riding solo clearly taught him a lot. He was able to experience the goodness that exists within people from other nations, and the difficulties they face. The people the Fire Nation were invading, he learned, were good, proud people. Zuko slowly realized that he didn’t want to be part of the tyrannical empire that his father was building.

Still, Zuko’s journey from ‘villain’ to ‘hero’ was far from over.

Next, he followed Azula’s tank train trail, revealing himself during her own face-off with Avatar Aang. The face-off quickly exploded into an all-out battle in which Team Avatar (now including Toph Beifong), Zuko, and Iroh quite ironically fought together against Azula, the common enemy.

The six of them cornered Azula, who feigned a surrender. But she slyly shot lightning at her uncle Iroh, badly injuring him. Team Avatar came to help, but Zuko firebended at them and told them to leave.

In the following days, Zuko took care of his uncle, while Iroh taught him how to redirect lightning.

Feeling confident that he had mastered the technique, Zuko asked Iroh to shoot lightning at him for practice. When Iroh refused, Zuko left in a rage.

Seeking out a thunderstorm, he stood at the edge of a high cliff. He screamed at the heavens. “You never held back before!” he declared, urging the universe to somehow retaliate to his anger. Zuko fell to his knees and burst into tears. No lightning struck him.

After returning to Iroh, the pair headed to the walls of Ba Sing Se…

Ba Sing Se

Iroh’s positive, friendly demeanor – along with his obvious passion for tea – landed himself and Zuko jobs in a tea shop.

After impressing with tea-making skills, an entrepreneur offered Iroh the opportunity to open a new tea shop. He offered Iroh a higher pay rate, creative freedom to build the shop however he please, and even a fancy new apartment. Post-banishment, Iroh couldn’t have imagined a better situation to unfold for him … unfortunately, Zuko didn’t feel the same way.

Zuko continued to sulk and whine about how his life was panning out. Iroh, then, made it his business to shake Zuko’s leg on his behalf.

When a regular customer to the tea shop – a teenage girl called Jin – showed interest in Zuko, Iroh convinced his nephew to go on a date with her.

Although reluctant at first, Zuko had an enjoyable (albeit awkward) time with Jin. Upon returning to the tea shop, he even told Iroh that his evening was “nice” (shock horror!).

It wasn’t long, though, before Zuko learned of the Avatar’s presence in Ba Sing Se…

Metamorphosis

He dressed up, once more, as the Blue Spirit and managed to find the Avatar’s flying bison – Appa – locked up in captivity. But during the process of claiming Appa, Iroh turned up.

He confronted Zuko:

Iroh: What do you plan to do now that you have the Avatar’s bison? Are you going to keep him locked up in our apartment? Should I make him tea?

Zuko: First I have to get him out of here…

Iroh: AND THEN WHAT?! You never think these things through…

Zuko & Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Two: Earth, ‘Lake Laogai’ (Episode 17).

Iroh talked Zuko down expertly. He referred back to when the Avatar’s friends saved him back at the Siege of the North, suggesting that Zuko is not in his right mind. Iroh challenged Zuko to look deep within himself to discover what it is that he really wanted in his life. Zuko eventually freed Appa, returning to the apartment with his uncle and dropping the Blue Spirit persona forever.

Zuko then fell into a deep fever. He slept and hallucinated for a number of days, his inner conflicts playing out visually in his mind’s eye. So far removed from his usual behaviour, freeing the Avatar’s bison plummeted Zuko into what Iroh described as a “metamorphosis.”

Zuko was changing. He started out as the tyrannical Firelord’s son; he was becoming a hero that the war-stricken world so badly needed.

And when he awoke from his fever, Zuko was a much friendlier and positive companion for Iroh.

Loyalties Tested

Azula locked Zuko in the Crystal Catacombs during her siege of Ba Sing Se… where he was accompanied by Katara of Team Avatar. Katara expressed extreme anger towards him, which Zuko clearly understood the reasons for.

After talking together for a while, Katara began to sympathize with Zuko’s personal plight. So convinced by Zuko’s transformation, Katara almost applied some of her limited supply of Spirit water – that she had been saving for something important – to Zuko’s face burns. But before she could, Avatar Aang showed up (with none other than Zuko’s Iroh!), distracting her.

Not long after, Azula arrived at the scene. And she warped Zuko’s mind again with promises of acceptance from their father – the promise of happy family life at home, where she told him he belonged.

In spite of his metamorphosis, his experiences of later, and his encounter with Katara, Zuko betrayed his uncle and Team Avatar. Regaining his honor in his father’s eyes remained his top priority.

Before leaving the scene, Azula struck Aang in the Avatar state – with the belief that this would kill the airbender and end the Avatar’s cycle of reincarnation.

Azula assured Zuko that he had made the right choice and had restored his honor; the Prince, though, didn’t feel very honorable…

Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Three: Fire

Returning Home

Zuko soon learned that Azula had told their father, Firelord Ozai, that it was Zuko who killed the Avatar, not her. She explained that there was nothing for Zuko to worry about if what he told her was true – that there was no way the Avatar could’ve survived. Of course, in the back of Zuko’s mind was the fact that Katara possessed a powerful and healing Spirit water … but he didn’t tell Azula that. For sure, though, Azula knew something was on Zuko’s mind. That’s why she was so willing to sacrifice the glory that comes with killing the Avatar.

Nervous about the Avatar’s potential survival, Zuko hired an assassin – who Team Avatar would later nickname “Combustion Man” – to finish the job.

Nevertheless, Ozai did accept Zuko back into the kingdom. He did restore his son’s honour, that Zuko had sought after for years prior. But Prince Zuko still felt the same as before – torn, angry, conflicted.

Indeed, the only saving grace for Zuko’s stay in the Fire Nation was being reunited with Mai. The pair shared an intimate, romantic relationship upon his return. But even his loving girlfriend caused moments of grief for Zuko.

The Beach

In ‘The Beach’ (S3E6?), Zuko and Mai’s relationship encountered some issues. Meanwhile, Mai, Ty Lee, Azula, and Zuko all opened up to each other emotionally, revealing their individual emotional traumas.

When it came to Zuko, the group pressed him to answer a simple question: who are you angry at?

After struggling with the question, Zuko finally responded by yelling: “I’M ANGRY AT MYSELF!”

It became quite clear at that point that Zuko was not satisfied with the choice he made in Ba Sing Se. It seemed as if he regretted his decision to join forces with Azula, betraying his loving uncle as well as the Avatar.

Despite the therapeutic holiday, including this collective release of emotions, Zuko’s turbulence continued. Things with Mai were much better when they got back to the Fire Nation kingdom, but Zuko self-loathing wouldn’t end until he made one big decision in his life.

In spite of acquiring his father’s approval, Zuko still felt the same levels of inner-conflict that he had done before. Nevertheless, he was close to completing the metamorphosis that he began back in Ba Sing Se…

Discovering His Roots: Fire Lord Sozin & Avatar Roku

Zuko began visiting his uncle Iroh, who had been imprisoned as a traitor to the Fire Nation after the events at the Crystal Catacombs.

Iroh’s influence guided Zuko to discover something he didn’t expect: that the previous Avatar – Avatar Roku – was his great-grandfather.

Iroh explained to Zuko that understanding the conflict between his two great-grandfathers – Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin – was critical in understanding the conflict within himself:

Avatar Roku and Firelord Sozin were the closest of friends growing up. They did everything together! Practiced combat, studied, even pursued romances. They were like brothers. When it was revealed that Roku – who was usually less skilful than Sozin – would be the Avatar, Sozin wasn’t bitter. He was excited for his friend.

But Sozin, after becoming Fire Lord, offered a proposition to Avatar Roku. He suggested that, together, they could usher in an expansion of the Fire Nation. The prosperity that they have built could be shared with all the nations.

When Roku refused this proposition, explaining that the four nations should remain separate, the pair were at odds with each other until Roku died. When Roku did pass away, Sozin had an opportunity to pursue his dream of a Fire Nation empire … and to make matters worse, Avatar Aang disappeared. The rest, as Zuko well knew, was history.

After more friction between him and his father, Zuko finally spoke his mind.

He openly criticized his father’s beliefs and mission, declaring his own intention to leave the Fire Nation and teach the Avatar firebending.

He also assured his father that he would help Team Avatar to end the Fire Nation’s assault on the rest of the world. This, he believed, was his destiny. Ozai then struck lightning at Zuko, who stunned the Fire Lord by redirecting his strike to the ceiling. What a way to stand up to a controlling father!

Joining Team Avatar

He left a letter for Mai, explaining his decision to switch sides, and promptly left.

Finding the Avatar wasn’t too hard – after all, he’d been tracking the Avatar for years prior to making this decision.

Convincing Team Avatar that he was trustworthy, however, was much more difficult.

As a result of his betrayal back in Ba Sing Se, Team Avatar were extremely reluctant to accept him – Katara in particular.

Zuko had to defeat the assassin, “Combustion Man” – who he previously hired to kill Aang – to prove that his intentions were good. Even after that, though, Katara continued to act extremely hostile towards him. She assured him that, if he gave even the slightest impression that he might hurt Aang, then she would kill him there and then. Ouch.

The Sun Warriors and The Firebending Masters

Zuko’s firebending skills all but disappeared as soon as he started teaching Aang. Katara mocked him and joked about the inconvenience. His firebending not working would’ve helped Team Avatar back when he was hunting them, after all.

All the same, his firebending wasn’t working. Zuko suggested that the reason could be that he’d changed sides and that he needed to draw his firebending power from another source. He didn’t want to take strength from anger as he had done before.

Therefore, he went with Aang to visit the Sun Warriors – who introduced the pair to the last living dragons in the world. After Zuko and Aang were deemed worthy, the dragons – a.k.a. “The Firebending Masters” – showed them the source of their firebending power. Fire was not merely a destructive thing, they realized. It was the source of all life.

With the knowledge and understanding gained from the masters, Zuko proceeded to teach Aang. He taught him all he could about firebending in the short time they had before the arrival of Sozin’s Comet – the comet which would give Firelord Ozai the power he needed to overwhelm and conquer all four nations.

Bonding with Team Avatar

Zuko helped Sokka to rescue Hakoda and Suki from the Fire Nation’s Boiling Rock prison. In the process of escaping, he betrayed his girlfriend Mai once again and matched his previously overpowering sister in battle. In spite of his betrayal of Mai, though, she saved Zuko’s life by betraying Azula, who was about to cut the line of the cable car carrying Zuko and co. to safety.

Meanwhile, Katara still couldn’t warm up to Zuko. Even though he’d taken Aang to see the dragons and helped Sokka to rescue her father, she simply couldn’t bring herself to trust him. It was fitting, then, that the two of them would take a trip together … to find the man who killed Katara’s mother.

Zuko witnessed Katara’s use of her brutal ability to ‘bloodbend’, as she showcased the dark side of her personality. But when Katara finally met with her mother’s killer, she couldn’t bring herself to kill the man that she had wanted to murder for years.

Finally, after helping her on this mission, Katara accepted Zuko into Team Avatar. His redemption was complete … almost.

Sozin’s Comet

When Aang disappeared in the days prior to the comet, Zuko – identified as the “expert” of the group at tracking down the Avatar – led Team Avatar.

They couldn’t find Aang. But they did find The Order of the White Lotus. Here, Zuko was reunited with his dear uncle Iroh.

Crying apologetically for his betrayal of his uncle, Iroh embraced Zuko. He forgave the betrayal far more easily than Zuko expected.

“I was never angry with you, Zuko. I was just sad because I thought you’d lost your way.”

Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Three: Fire, ‘Sozin’s Comet Part 2: The Old Maters’ (Episode 19).

During the last great battle of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, Zuko fought Azula again. This time, though, they fought in a comet-fuelled Agni-Kai. Zuko got the better of his sister – who showed early signs of her oncoming insanity – and forced her to admit defeat. True to her treacherous character, though, Azula aimed one last bolt of lightning at Katara, who stood nearby. In the last step toward his redemption, Zuko blocked the lightning by diving in front of Katara, seriously injuring himself in the process.

Katara managed to finish off Azula, thanks to her waterbending prowess and rapid creative thought processes. After neutralizing the Princess, she healed Zuko’s new wounds and thanked him for saving her life. No doubt about where Zuko’s loyalties lay existed for her anymore.

Zuko’s Coronation

Aang was victorious in defeating Firelord Ozai, the comet passed, and the world saved. Team Avatar was a success!

Zuko’s crowning as Fire Lord followed. During the coronation, he promised the four nations that he would work with the Avatar to ensure world peace and harmony are restored. He made it his mission to restore honor to the disgraced Fire Nation.

And the icing on the cake for the new Fire Lord: his girlfriend, Mai, forgave him for betraying her (twice!). Everything came up Zuko 🙂

And that was the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender…

…but Zuko’s story was FAR from over!!

Zuko in the Avatar Graphic Novels

Fire Lord Zuko: First Actions

Zuko visited his father in prison as soon as his coronation was complete.

He insisted that Ozai tell him what had happened to his mother … the outcome of that particular narrative reveals itself later, though (patience, dear reader!! We’ll get there).

The first of his major, official acts as Fire Lord was to help usher in the Harmony Restoration Movement. The movement removed all of the Fire Nation colonies from the other nations, allowing the Four Nations to re-continue their previously harmonious relationships together.

Zuko made Aang promise to “end him” if he ever became a Fire Lord similar to what his father had been. In spite of his redemption, Zuko was still concerned that he could turn bad again.

Assassination Attempts & Yu Dao

Restoring the Four Nations to their previous glories through the Harmony Restoration Movement was a popular policy … until it wasn’t.

Six assassination attempts on Zuko’s life shook up his peaceful demeanor. The last attempt came from Kori Morishita – daughter of the mayor of Yu Dao, one of the Fire Nation’s main Earth Kingdom colonies prior to the Harmony Restoration Movement.

The people of Yu Dao were furious with the Movement. They claimed that the decision forcefully removed innocent people from their homes. Zuko decided to investigate further.

When he arrived at Yu Dao, it came as a surprise to him that the mayor’s wife and daughters were actually earthbenders. In fact, Yu Dao was a great example of how Fire Nation and Earth Nation natives could live together harmoniously. Fire Nation people had been living there peacefully for generations.

Zuko, therefore, canceled the Harmony Restoration Movement. In other words, he allowed Fire Nation colonies to remain in Yu Dao and elsewhere. This perplexed Avatar Aang and Katara, who confronted the Fire Lord for his apparent U-turn.

But after some discussions directly with Zuko, as well as a brief conflict between the Fire Lord and Katara, Aang tried to convince the Earth King to change his mind about Yu Dao.

Mai Breaking Up with Zuko

During the complicated situation in Yu Dao, Mai grew impatient with Zuko’s lack of attention towards her.

Following the several attempts on Zuko’s life, the Fire Lord suffered from nightmares regularly disturbing his sleep. Mai, then, hired the Kyoshi Warriors as his bodyguards.

When Zuko went to Yu Dao, though, he forgot to tell Mai he was leaving. This lack of communication upset her immensely.

Later, Mai learned that Zuko had been holding secret meetings with his father Ozai (in his prison cell). Zuko had originally been meeting with Ozai to learn about his mother’s whereabouts; those meetings, though, had turned into counseling sessions for Zuko’s role as Fire Lord.

When Mai found out about these secret meetings, she broke up with Zuko.

It was yet another challenging and confusing life situation for Zuko to navigate.

The Battle of Yu Dao

After Mai broke up with Zuko, the Earth King marched an army towards Yu Dao in an attempt to reclaim it from the Fire Nation. In turn, Zuko took a Fire Nation army of his own to Yu Dao, prepared for battle.

The battle could easily have escalated into a war, if not for the intervention of Aang. The Avatar headed to Yu Dao, suspecting that he might have to fulfil his promise and “end” Zuko. Luckily, Aang separated the armies by entering the Avatar state and was able to strike an agreement with the Earth King.

Then he turned to Zuko…

Zuko went into metamorphosis again, just like he had in Ba Sing Se when staying with his uncle Iroh. He woke up after 4 days and felt much better. That relieved Aang, who no longer needed to fulfill his promise of killing his friend if he became like Fire Lord Ozai.

After those events unfolded, Zuko tried to get back to the mindset that he had before becoming Fire Lord. This started with re-setting one intention in particular…

Zuko’s Search for Mother … with Azula

He returned to his father’s cell to insist Ozai share more information about Ursa’s whereabouts. But when Ozai refused to help, Zuko turned to Azula – living in a mental asylum.

With the help of his unpredictable sister, along with Team Avatar, Zuko searched for Ursa.

There were many bumps in the road – not least a few fights with Azula (naturally!). Azula also carried with her a letter which implied that Zuko was not Ozai’s son. If true, this would’ve meant Zuko was not the true heir to the Fire Nation’s throne. This, along with a psychotic episode in which Azula was restrained by Team Avatar, made the mission far harder than Zuko wanted.

Eventually, Azula and Zuko managed to reach an agreement. “Why does our relationship have to be like this?!” Zuko lamented to his sister before they made a kind of peace with each other.

Afterward, they arrived in Hira’a – Ursa’s hometown. They were welcomed here by a man called Noren along with his wife Noriko, who also had a young daughter named Kiyi. In search for the man Azula’s letters claim is Zuko’s true father (Ikem), the team headed for Hira’a’s “Forgetful Valley,” where Ikem was rumored to have ventured.

In the valley, an ancient spirit called The Mother of Faces showed itself to them. The Mother told Zuko that she had erased Ursa’s memories and bestowed upon her a new identity. That identity was none other than Noriko – the woman who met with Team Avatar in Hira’a.

Catching Up with Mum

Azula almost immediately attacked Noriko when they arrived back in Hira’a. Zuko managed to stop her attack and restrain Azula. But his tricky sister escaped and ran off into the Forgetful Valley.

Zuko was stopped by The Mother of Faces when chasing her. The spirit asked Noriko, who also followed them, if she would like her memory restored … Zuko’s mother accepted and became Ursa once more.

Ursa embraced her son lovingly, filling a hole in Zuko’s heart that had existed for so many years. She apologised for leaving and explained the letter about Zuko’s father. It turned out that she had faked the letter to anger Ozai. Indeed, Ozai was Zuko’s real father and Zuko was the true Fire Lord.

Zuko played with the daughter of Norem and Ursa, Kiyi – who he then understood to be his baby sister. The siblings got along swimmingly well.

And Ursa finally told Zuko her life story from beginning to end. A satisfying tie up of Zuko’s loosest of loose ends!

Zuko went searching in the Forgetful Valley for Azula, but couldn’t find her (if you think she’s going to make a return … well, aren’t you smart?!).

The New Ozai Society

Zuko was threatened by the emergence of The New Ozai Society on his return to the Fire Nation. This society’s goal was simple: to reinstate Ozai’s nationalist state to power, removing Zuko from the throne in the process.

The New Ozai Society had been bubbling under the surface ever since Zuko’s coronation. But upon his low-key return to the Fire Nation, the society’s leader – Ukano, father of Mai (Zuko’s ex-girlfriend) – decided it was time to attack. Zuko was traveling home with his mother Ursa, sister Kiyi, and Norem (Ursa’s husband), accompanied nonetheless by the Kyoshi Warriors (now his personal bodyguards).

Ukano’s forces successfully captured Zuko and the Kyoshi Warriors, demanding Zuko to relinquish the throne. When Zuko refused, Ukano threatened to burn the caravan that carried the Fire Lord’s family. Disgusted by Ukano’s conduct, one of the masked society soldiers – Kei Lo, who happened to be Mai’s new boyfriend (unbeknownst to Zuko at that point) – unmasked himself and set Zuko free.

Eventually, Kyoshi Warrior reinforcements – accompanied by Mai, no less – came to the Fire Lord’s aid, easily finishing off the New Ozai Society.

The Kemurikage Spirits

A month later, Mai’s baby brother Tom-Tom was kidnapped by what she claimed looked like the Kemurikage Spirits.

The tale of these spirits was a story told to naughty children in the Fire Nation. The myth went that they would kidnap misbehaving children – a narrative used by parents who wanted to get their kids in order.

The kidnappers that took Tom-Tom, though, had taken several other young children for real (and not naughty children, necessarily … hehe).

Zuko offered to help Mai find her brother and the other missing children as soon as he heard the news. He employed the help of Aang, who he supposed would be a great help in dealing with potential dark spirits (being the Avatar and all).

A team of Zuko, Aang, Mai, and Kei Lo (who Zuko was clearly jealous of for being Mai’s love interest) worked together. They headed to the High Temple, where Aang meditated into the spirit world. There, Aang learned that the Kemurikage spirits had not left the spirit world, indicating that the kidnappers were merely dressed like Kemurikage.

A Moment Alone with Mai

During the mission to learn more about the Kemurikage, Zuko and Mai shared some moments of affection.

However, Mai was angered by Zuko when he asked her to compare her new relationship with Kei Lo to the one they had shared. She told Zuko that he broke her heart twice and they should both move on. It seemed to Mai that Kei Lo liked her much more than she liked him; that, she claimed, would prevent her from getting hurt the way Zuko hurt her.

Clearly, there were still feelings between them. But it is still unclear (to this day, reader) whether or not they ever rekindled their relationship due to gaps in the Avatar franchise narrative. You can be sure, though, that this page will be swiftly updated as soon as any such information is revealed!!

Zuko’s Response to the Kemurikage

Zuko soon learned that a military organization had started up in response to the kidnaps – the Safe Nation Society. Zuko angrily enforced that this group should be disbanded or its members would be arrested.

Not long afterwards, though, Kiyi (his stepsister) was kidnapped.

In response, Zuko locked down the entire city and ordered the homes of the Safe Nation Society to be searched. Aang expressed his concern, but Zuko continued to react emotionally. The Safe Nation Society soon kicked off a riot in the city, leading to their imprisonment.

Azula’s Return

Eventually, the team discovered that it was none other than Azula (surprise, surprise!) who led the faux-Kemurikage all along. Zuko fought his sister again, this time being defeated by Azula who seemed to have regained some stability/control in her time outside of the mental asylum.

Zuko told Azula that she was wasting her time fighting him. Even if she killed him, she would never be Fire Lord. But Azula laughed, explaining that taking the throne was not her goal. Her goal was to influence Zuko to become a leader like Ozai, ruling with strength and fear … she also claimed that she had already achieved that goal, citing Zuko’s recent behavior as evidence.

As she told him this, Zuko noticed that his friends had found and saved the missing children. Azula then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Incidentally, Azula is yet to appear in the Avatar franchise since.

Zuko reflected upon his conduct of late. Azula’s suggestion that she had changed him to be more like Fire Lord Ozai before gave him yet another feeling of guilt. In a speech to the people of the Fire Nation, Zuko apologized for his recent performance as Fire Lord, promising to do better from now on.

The Southern Reconstruction Project

Some years later, Hakoda (leader of the Southern Water Tribe and father of Katara and Sokka) called for a meeting between world leaders. In the meeting, the leaders – consisting of Head Chieftain Hakoda, Fire Lord Zuko, and Earth King Kuei – discussed plans to redevelop the post-war Southern Water Tribe.

This was a project that Zuko was eager to help out and fund. The Earth King, though, was hesitant.

Regardless, Zuko was welcomed with intense hostility by the Water Tribe citizens. They clearly hadn’t forgiven the Fire Nation for the war just yet.

The protestors managed to kidnap the Earth King, luring Zuko into crossing a broken bridge to rescue him. Luckily, Avatar Aang was at hand to help rescue Kuei and things worked out okay.

But it was clear that echoes of the war were still ringing around the minds of people worldwide.

Zuko in The Legend of Korra

Later Reign and Fatherhood

Zuko’s controversial decision to abort the Harmony Restoration Project ultimately proved to be one of his best decisions as Fire Lord.

The Yu Dao example of Fire Nation and Earth Nation citizens living together harmoniously acted as a precursor to the development of Republic City. He was also one of the key figures in initiating the United Republic of Nations, which oversaw more than 50 years of world peace.

Very little has been written of Zuko’s life between the beginnings of the Republic and his appearances in The Legend of Korra (which will be covered in the next section). As with other topics in this article, however, any events that are described in future Avatar franchise installments will be updated into this article as quickly as those events are revealed!

Possibly the most burning questions for fans is that of Zuko’s lovelife.

The Fire Lord did have a daughter named Izumi. However, Izumi’s mother is never revealed during The Legend of Korra, or anywhere else for that matter.

Speculation that Mai was Izumi’s mother has certainly done the rounds on the internet. And the existing Avatar literature leaves plenty of room for that possibility (given that Mai broke up with Kei Lo not long after the events with Azula’s Kemurikage). But Izumi’s mother remains an unanswered question for the moment.

Nevertheless, Zuko did have a daughter. His relationship with her would seem to have been quite positive, too. He eventually abdicated his throne, entrusting it to Izumi in his retirement.

Izumi also bore a grandchild for Zuko, too – Iroh (named for Zuko’s uncle, of course). Iroh would become a general of the United Forces.

One more noteworthy development in Zuko’s life is that he adopted a dragon, which he named Durk.

Helping Avatar Korra

Zuko remained a close friend of Avatar Aang, who would regularly come to the Fire Lord for counsel. On the flip side, Zuko learned to trust Aang’s intuition.

After Aang’s death, Zuko ensured that he was available to the aid of Avatar Korra whenever necessary. Most notably, he helped defend the Republic against the threat of Zaheer and the Red Lotus.

Korra came to Zuko for advice herself after her connection to the spirits of previous Avatars was severed by Zaheer’s brutal assault on her. During a visit to the spirit world, she happened to meet with Zuko’s uncle Iroh, who suggested that she go to Zuko for guidance (as Aang had done before her). Iroh explained that Zuko had a connection to the Avatar spirit himself.

Zuko was stunned that Korra had communicated with his uncle.

Such was Zuko’s good reputation in the Republic, a statue was erected of him near Central City Station.

Death

Zuko’s death is yet to be described in the Avatar franchise. And knowing the topsy-turvy nature of his story, there can be no guarantees that he died peacefully in his sleep!!

That being said, Zuko moved to the paradisal Ember Island after handing the Fire Lord title to Izumi. The idea was that he could relax and retire there … we sure hope that he was able to! And we’re sure that we will hear more about Zuko in the future.

Zuko’s Legacy

Undoubtedly, Zuko’s character arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender left a lasting impact on watchers of TV series’. Not only is it considered one of the best redemption arcs in animated and/or children’s TV history – it is considered one of the best in all TV history.

Zuko’s story is comparable to other epic redemption arcs such as Jaime Lannister and Theon Grejoy in Game of Thrones, Severus Snape in Harry Potter, Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars. Being held up alongside such esteemed company as that would surely be a compliment to any character from any piece of literature!

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a marker point to which all other animated series are compared to. And Zuko is – in no small measure – an important reason for that.

After all, Zuko embodies one of the key themes of the entire series: that good and bad/light and dark exists within everything and everyone. He displays a tendency to be thoroughly hateful, while also proving that he is simultaneously a loving, empathetic character. Don’t we all have such conflicting feelings/morals between love & hate, like & dislike? Zuko represents the human struggle as a whole.

He’s as 3-dimensional as they come.

Mai Avatar: Mai is best-known as the typically bored, angsty girlfriend of Prince Zuko during Avatar: The Last Airbender. Although her sassy indifference is basically a negative trait, audiences have found Mai to be rather endearing. After all, who doesn’t have days where they simply don’t give a damn about anything? Even if it’s only occasionally, we are all capable of those moods. Mai basically reflects that part of our personalities, which is why she is so likable!

Even the happiest among us have to do things in everyday life that we’d rather not do. Washing the dishes at home, helping awkward customers at work – you name it! Most people just get on with those menial day-to-day tasks. But Mai is completely honest in those moments. She isn’t afraid to express what she is thinking, even if that might make other people uncomfortable.

It’s true that somebody like Mai isn’t necessarily a good role model. For example, Mai isn’t one of the happiest characters in the series and doesn’t enjoy her life as much as, say, Aang – or even her best friend, Ty Lee. But Mai is pretty much a bad-ass, and the Gothic angel of the entire Avatar franchise. Who doesn’t want to be at least a bit more like her?!

Mai also undergoes a real transformation in her personality by the end of the series. Audiences love to see characters develop and learn throughout a story. Mai is a great example of this in practice.

Without further ado, here’s her story – the good and the bad. We hope you enjoy it! 🙂

Mai Avatar: Her Life Story

Mai Avatar: Upbringing

Mai’s upbringing was exceedingly comfortable – too comfortable, in fact.

Her father, Ukano, was a governor of New Ozai. He bought anything Mai wanted … so long as she behaved the way a governor’s daughter was expected to behave (i.e. quiet, polite, and sensible).

That might sound like a dream come true for many kids growing up, especially those who grew up without even a sniff of luxury. But Mai’s upbringing lacked something essential, despite the abundance that was given to her. In being rewarded for good behavior, she was conditioned to be emotionally distant and cold. In ‘The Beach’ (S3E6) she reflected that this was a form of emotional neglect from her parents, resulting in her moody, teenage angst.

Mai’s mother, Michi, also told Mai stories about the Kemurikage (dark spirits that kidnapped badly-behaving children). This was another strategy of forcing Mai to behave as she was expected to, inadvertently conditioning her to yield to the demands of forceful and aggressive leaders (Azula, for instance).

Accusing Ukano and Michi of bad parenting might seem appropriate at this point. Ukano thought he was doing a good thing by buying extravagant gifts for his daughter, it’s safe to say. And Michi’s own mother told her stories about the Kemurikage as a child. Mai’s parents only raised her the way they did because they believed it was the correct way to raise their child.

Maybe they were bad parents. But that isn’t entirely their fault.

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Mai Avatar: Knife Throwing

Mai’s knife-throwing skills are arguably better than anybody else’s in the Avatar franchise. The origins of those skills is quite a sad story in itself, though (typically for Mai!).

She used to throw knives at her bedroom wall due to the levels of boredom she experienced. Mai resorted to this because she hated life in the Fire Nation so much. Perhaps she was also letting out the pent-up anger that she’d been unable to express in public or with her parents.

Later, Mai was enrolled in the Fire Nation Academy for Girls. She met Princess Azula and Ty Lee there, who noticed Mai’s skill with weapons pretty quickly.

Azula’s Antics

Anybody who has watched Avatar: The Last Airbender knows that Azula grew up to be an intelligent and highly manipulative gal. Well, she was no slack at a young age, either.

At a sleepover, Azula made the suggestion that she, Mai, and Ty Lee should steal the mochi that Mai’s mother Michi had made as a gift for Mai’s grandmother’s 70^th birthday. After going along with stealing the mochi, Mai & Ty Lee eventually refused to eat it. Instead, Azula went on to eat the entire dessert by herself.

Mai was uninvolved in this rascality. Nonetheless, she had nightmares about the Kemurikage abducting her for stealing the mochi afterward.

On another occasion, Princess Azula observed Mai’s obvious attraction to Prince Zuko. Upon doing so, she initiated a ‘game’ with Mai, Zuko, and Ty Lee. She balanced an apple on Mai’s head, claiming that players had to knock it off in a certain way. She demonstrated this by setting the apple on fire atop Mai’s head, prompting Zuko to tackle Mai into the pond behind her to put out the fire on her head. Azula got to laugh, telling Ty Lee “I told you it would work!”

Poor Mai! Raised by her parents and alongside the psychotic Princess Azula!

Avatar: The Last Airbender--Smoke and Shadow Library Edition

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Mai Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 2: Earth

Mai’s first appearance in the Avatar series is in episode 3 (‘Return to Omashu’) of the second season, Earth.

She had been forced to live in the recently-conquered Earth kingdom of Omashu by her parents. Her father had been appointed governor of the city – so Mai, her mother Michi, and her new two-year-old brother Tom-Tom (who is simply adorable, by the way!) came with him.

Mai was complaining about how boring life was in Omashu (describing it as “unbearably bleak”). Just then, the Omashu resistance attempted to assassinate Mai, her mother, and Tom-Tom. They rolled a huge boulder down towards them that surely would’ve crushed them. But Avatar Aang stopped the boulder with his airbending after appearing on the scene by chance.

Desperate for some excitement – and mistakenly believing Team Avatar (Aang, Katara, and Sokka) to be responsible for the assassination attempt – Mai showcased her combat skills for the first time.

She pursued Team Avatar alongside a team of Omashu guards, demonstrating the frightening accuracy of her long-distance knife-throwing. More persistent and skillful than the guards, Mai actually got close to catching up with Team Avatar. But they were saved by members of the resistance who earthbended the ground beneath them to steal them away from Mai’s hungry claws.

Meanwhile, Mai’s brother Tom-Tom had wandered off and found himself in the campsite of the Resistance. Mai’s father, Ukano, assumed the resistance had kidnapped him.

Formation of “Ozai’s Angels”

Adding to a dramatic day for Mai, her old pal Princess Azula turned up. She invited Mai into the fan-named “Ozai’s Angels” team, which would consist of Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai. They would go on working together for the majority of The Last Airbender series.

“Are you here to kill me?” Mai dryly asked of Azula, before joining the Princess on her mission to capture Zuko and Iroh. Despite her reluctance to pursue Zuko (her childhood crush), Mai was relieved that an opportunity arose to save her from her draining existence in Omashu.

As Princess, Azula appointed Mai to take control from her father of the trade between the government and the resistance for the governor’s son (and Mai’s brother) Tom-Tom. In the negotiation with Team Avatar, Azula asserts that swapping a two-year-old boy for a King (Bumi, Aang’s friend) is not a fair trade. Mai agrees, raising King Bumi out of reach from Team Avatar and out of the trade. Ozai’s Angels and Team Avatar then commenced their first battle against each other, resulting in Team Avatar’s escape.

Aang returns baby Tom-Tom to his parents (without them knowing it was him) and Mai’s broken family is restored. But this is a pretty chilling first impression of Mai. Her willingness to give up baby Tom-Tom in negotiations gave a view of the meanest, most Stoic side of her personality. It is possibly the nastiest perspective we ever get of Mai.

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Mai Avatar: Skillful, But Indifferent

Following the hairy trail left behind by Appa, the Aang’s flying vison, Ozai’s Angels intensely pursued Team Avatar for some time. When catching up with them, Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee left a lasting impression on the series’ heroes with their high-level combat skills. Mai and Ty Lee get the better of Sokka and Katara a few times throughout the series, while Azula gets dangerously close to capturing Aang.

Later in the series, Mai assisted Ozai’s Angels in defeating the Kyoshi Warriors (led by Sokka’s love interest, Suki). After describing the Kyoshi Warrior outfits as “nauseous,” Mai and the Angels dressed up in those outfits to infiltrate the kingdom of Ba Sing Se.

Her fighting skills were never in question. But her commitment to Azula’s mission seemed quite low on a number of occasions. During the Fire Nation’s initial attack on Ba Sing Se, Mai refused to chase Sokka and Katara into a sewage pipe, disgusted by the appearance and smell of the “wall sludge juice.” Classic!

Later on, during The Coup of Ba Sing Se, Team Avatar (now accompanied by Toph Beifong) regrouped and came to reclaim Earth King Kuei’s pet bear from the guard of Mai and Ty Lee. Completely disinterested in the menial task of guarding the pet, Mai told Team Avatar to “just take the bear.”

Yup. Mai really didn’t give a single iota!

Relationship with Zuko

Azula set Mai up on a date with Zuko, with the hope that she could lure the Prince back home. As a result, Mai rekindled the childhood spark that had existed between her and the future Firelord.

But Mai and Zuko’s relationship was bumpy at best. There were plenty of sweet moments of affection shared between the moody pair – who clear bonded over their shared negative outlooks on the world. But, also due to that shared negativity, they found themselves becoming irritated and angry with one another on an equally regular basis.

In Book 3, Episode 6 (‘The Beach’), Mai briefly broke up with Zuko because of his angry demeanor. They get back together in the same episode and their relationship improves significantly after they both express their emotions to each other (as well as to Ty Lee and Azula, both of whom released emotions of their own). But she received a letter from Zuko, in ‘The Day of Black Sun’, explaining that he was going to join Team Avatar. Mai’s heart was broken for the first time as she read the letter.

At The Boiling Rock, where the warden (Mai’s uncle, Mishi’s brother) held Zuko prisoner, she returned to argue with her now ex-boyfriend. Mai, uncharacteristically frustrated and affected, questioned Zuko’s motives in leaving. She disagreed with his view that he had to do what he did in order to save his country. Then, Zuko took an opportunity to escape the cell, locking Mai in there with a prison guard.

“I Love Zuko More Than I Fear You”

Mai turned from villain to hero when she prevented Azula’s attempt to stop Zuko, Sokka, Suki, and Hakoda from completing their prison break. Stunned at her betrayal, Azula goes to attack Mai – one of the only people ever to show her authority such a lack of respect. But, as Azula readied her attack, she was chi-blocked by the other of Ozai’s Angels, Ty Lee.

In spite of all Mai’s awesome combat skills, this was possibly the bravest we ever see of her. Standing up to Azula is no mean feat. But Mai doesn’t give a damn. She told the controlling Princess what she really thought, following her heart rather than her head.

Furious, Azula arrested her former allies and proceeded to go a little bit insane.

In prison, though, Mai and Ty Lee meet and befriend their former foes: the Kyoshi Warriors.

Ty Lee joins the Kyoshi Warriors after the war, when they are released from prison. Mai, meanwhile, returns to her lover, Zuko – forgiving him for previously breaking her heart.

They dated again for a while after Zuko’s coronation as Firelord. You could be forgiven for thinking that their new relationship, having both turned corners in their respective lives, would be much stronger.

But…

Another Break-Up

The new relationship wasn’t as smooth as the lovers had hoped. As Firelord, Zuko confided in Mai less and less; her frustration grew with his poor communication over time. When her new friend Suki told her that Zuko had been meeting with his father, the former Firelord Ozai, Mai decided she’d had enough of him keeping secrets from her. Hurt by Zuko’s lack of effort, she broke up with him once again. What a mess!

Moving on: Meeting Kei Lo

In an attempt to overcome yet another broken heart, Mai worked in her Aunt’s flower shop for a while. She was approached and asked out by Kei Lo – a fresh-faced young man with a huge crush on Mai – while working there.

She agreed to go on a date with Kei Lo and actually had a great time.

However, Kei Lo then took Mai to a meeting of the ‘New Ozai Society’ – a movement that aimed to reinstate Ozai as Firelord, overthrowing Zuko. Mai was enraged at Kei Lo and the society for their ideology – and was even more shocked to learn that her father was the society’s founding member.

She angrily fought with society members, defeating them easily. Left standing was her father and Kei Lo. Mai told her father that bringing her baby brother Tom-Tom to a place like that was completely unacceptable. And she punched Kei Lo square in the face for good measure, declaring their date to be over. Vintage Mai.

The Gothic Angel was never one to shy away from drama, that’s for sure!

Battling the New Ozai Society

Mai, her mother, and Tom-Tom moved out of her father’s home after Mai informed Michi of Ukano’s involvement with the New Ozai Society.

While catching up with Ty Lee, Kei Lo returned to visit Mai again. Mai acted enthusiastically pleased to see him, to the surprise of Ty Lee. Encouraged by Mai’s affection, Kei Lo told her that Ukano had plans to assassinate Firelord Zuko and his family. When Kei Lo left, Mai went back to her usual, emotionally-detached self, causing Ty Lee to criticize her lack of honesty towards Kei Lo. Mai explained that she didn’t trust Kei Lo and just wanted to hear what he had to say. Ty Lee, though, told Mai that she believed Kei Lo was telling the truth.

Mai grappled with her lack of trust towards Kei Lo until his claims, eventually, proved to be accurate. He then helped Mai to save Zuko’s life and defeat the New Ozai Society.

After those events, Mai spoke with an apologetic and caring Kei Lo. She kissed him for the first time … but, as she did, witnessed what looked like Kemurikage spirits – who she had nightmares about as a child – kidnapping Tom-Tom.

Aang Helps With Kemurikage Spirits; Zuko Talks to Mai

Firelord Zuko returned again, enlisting the help of Avatar Aang to save Tom-Tom as well as other children that had been kidnapped. Avatar’s ability to contact the spirit world would be useful in tackling spirit problems, he figured.

Mai, meanwhile, was accused by her father of being the reason Tom-Tom was kidnapped. Kei Lo then encourages her to inform Zuko that Ukano was involved with the New Ozai Society. She didn’t want to expose her father, though, because she wanted Tom-Tom to grow up with a father.

Avatar Aang, Firelord Zuko, and Kei Lo helped Mai to explore the reasons for the Kemurikage attacks. During their mission, Mai and Zuko continued their old-time bickering, much to the awkwardness of Aang and Kei Lo.

Mai and Zuko eventually got some time alone, where the Firelord asked Mai about her feelings for him compared to her feelings for Kei Lo. Angry at Zuko’s initiation of such a conversation, she insisted they both move on. She tells Zuko that she felt stupid for letting him break her heart twice. Then she told him that Kei Lo liked her more than she liked him, which she preferred because it prevented her from getting hurt the same way again.

When Aang and Kei Lo returned, Aang informed Mai and Zuko that he spoke to his contacts in the spirit world. Apparently, the Kemurikage spirits hadn’t actually entered the mortal world at all. The child-abductors, then, were imposters.

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Saving Tom-Tom from An Old Friend

The team soon learned that the ‘fake Kemurikage’ was headed by none other than Princess Azula, who had been released from prison by Zuko just a few months earlier (fool!).

Along with Aang, Zuko, and Kei Lo, Mai managed to retrieve Tom-Tom from the Kemurikage – thanks, too, to the help of her father Ukano.

When the events transpired, Azula and her Kemurikage managed to escape arrest, while Ukano turned himself over to the prison. He apologized to Mai for his behavior and promised that he will try to make it up to everyone from that point onwards.

Mai, though, broke up with Kei Lo, leaving him in tears. Clearly, she didn’t feel like working on a relationship after all the heavy drama that had recently gone down.

What Happened Next?

Mai’s break-up with Kei Lo is Mai’s last appearance in the Avatar franchise’s literature (so far).

However, Gene Yang – who was involved in the writing of some Avatar comics – claimed in an interview that Mai and Zuko got back together 3 years following her break-up with Kei Lo. In The Legend of Korra, we learn that Zuko has a daughter called Izumi. But it is not revealed who her mother is. That has led some fans to further speculate about Zuko’s relationship with Mai.

The adult life and death of Mai, then, is currently unclear. But keep an eye on this page – if we learn anything new about Mai’s life, we will update this article.

Mai Avatar: The Goth Angel

One thing is for sure, though. Mai redeemed herself from being a villain (a quirky villain, but a villain all the same) in her first appearance to being a character we root for in her later appearances. She is one of the many characters in the Avatar franchise that we can’t help but feel affection for.

Plus, her Gothic style is definitely among the coolest of all the characters in the series. Mai will inevitably have a cult following as long as the Avatar franchise remains popular.