Ozai's relationships

Like his daughter Azula, Ozai's cruelty and huge ego causes him to immeadiately gain enemies, causing him to be hated and feared by almost everyone he comes in contact with.

Azulon

 * "I think Iroh has suffered enough, but you, your punishment has scarcely begun!" - Azulon to Ozai in a flashback of Zuko Alone



Little is known about Ozai and his father's relationship, however it seems that Azulon favored Iroh, as he was a strong defender of his birth right. It is possible that the way Ozai treats Zuko is because of the way Azulon treated him. It was also revealed that Azulon ordered Ozai to kill his own son, Zuko, whom Ozai would have killed if it was not for the intervention of Ursa.

Iroh
Not much is known about the relationship of Iroh and Ozai, however, it is strongly hinted that it can be comparable to that of Zuko and Azula's. It is possible that they used to love each other, however, it seems that, if true, that all love is all gone between the two due to the fact that both of them seemed very happy when the other one was in jail. Both of their opposite personalities have reflected on both Zuko and Azula, Iroh with Zuko and Ozai with Azula.

Zuko
Ozai and Zuko have always had a complicated relationship. Though Zuko always wanted to please Ozai, Ozai was never pleased with Zuko, saying he was lucky to be born, unlike Azula, whom he said was born lucky. Ozai seemed to have tried to have been a good father when he was younger, but almost all his love for Zuko vanished when Zuko "disrespected" Ozai by speaking against one of his general's plans. This resulted in Ozai burning Zuko's eye, permanently scarring him in an Agni Kai Zuko never wanted to participate in. He was banished after the pathetic display he had shown during the Agni kai, and could only return home if he captured the avatar. However, he finally won back Ozai's love when he helped his sister conquer Ba Sin Se, betray his uncle, and killed the avatar (which Azula lied about to protect herself if the Avatar was alive).

During the "Day of Black Sun", Zuko comes to the conclusion to join Team Avatar in their quest to defeat Ozai and bring balance to the world. Zuko confronts Ozai in his underground bunker and says he's going to tell him the truth, Ozai, amused by this, lets him speak. Zuko reveals that it was Azula, not he, who killed the Avatar, and that the Avatar was alive and was likely leading the invasion. Zuko disowns his father and states he no longer wants Ozai's love. He then announces his decision to join the Avatar and that he would free his uncle from prison. While leaving, Ozai deems him a coward and baits his son to stay until the sun comes out by revealing what happened to his long-lost mother. According to Ozai, Azulon did order him to kill Zuko, and that he would of done it if Ursa had not of found out. To protect Zuko, she proposed a plan where Ozai would become Fire Lord, and Zuko would live. By doing this she commited vicious acts of treason, resulting in her banishment. Zuko is nearly moved to tears by this news. Before he can leave however, the eclipse ends and Ozai tries to kill Zuko by zapping him with a powerful bolt of lightning. Zuko redirects it and escapes before Ozai can retaliate.

Zuko openly showed his hatred toward his father with the rest of team Avatar, as he openly stated that Ozai was the worst father ever. He insisted that as the Avatar, Aang had to kill Ozai, a task Aang did not want to partake in. When Aang defeats Ozai by taking his bending away, Zuko visits his father in prison, and is evidently satisfied with Ozai's loss of bending. Zuko hopes that after some time in prison, Ozai will be put on the right path, and he praises his father for banishing him, saying it was the best thing he could of ever done for him. Ozai likely harbors a deep grudge against his son for contributing to his downfall.

Before leaving, Zuko demands to know where his mother is. It is unknown what Ozai's response was.

Azula
Unlike Zuko, Azula is Ozai's pride, sharing her fathers disposition towards cruelty and violence. Ozai always favored Azula, saying she was born lucky, as opposed to Zuko, who he said was lucky to be born. Ozai was always impressed and proud of Azula's Firebending abilities and intelligence. As Ozai's dislike of Zuko grew over the years, so did his favortism of Azula. Without a mother figure, Azula and Zuko had to live up to their father. Azula succeded, however, she was pressured to be a perfectionist, settling for nothing less, as Ozai wouldn't be as proud. Ozai also was very trustful of Azula, beleiving her lie that Zuko slayed the avatar.

On The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse, Zuko revealed to Ozai that Azula took down the Avatar, and lied to protect herself. Even though Ozai seemed furious, Azula didn't seem to have been punished when she was at The Boiling Rock, as she was just as calm and focused as ever. However, the betrayal of her friends caused Azula to go insane, effecting her and Ozai's relationship forever. On the day of Ozai's coronation as Phoenix King, Ozai informs Azula that he will not be taking her with him to burn down the Earth Kingdom. At first Azula is extremely upset, feeling her father doesn't want her and is treating her like Zuko. Ozai harshly silences her, but then calmly and more kindly tells her that he has decided to make her Fire Lord. This makes her happy, however, the damage was already done, and Azula still felt hurt and betrayed, resulting in her complete descent into madness.

It is likely that Ozai has lost most of his respect for Azula due to the fact that she lost to Zuko.

Lu Ten
Barely anything is known about the relationship between Ozai and his nephew, however, it was shown that Ozai was very unsympathetic to Lu Ten's death, as he tried to gain the throne by telling Azulon that with Lu Ten dead, Iroh's bloodline has ended.

Ursa
According to audio commentary for Zuko Alone, Ozai and Ursa's marraige started out good even though it was arranged. However, because of their different personalities, they slowly grew apart. Together they had two children, Zuko and Azula. Their different personalities also shaped the lives of their children, each of them being favored by a different parent. Their marraige finally came to an end a day before Ozai would be crowned Fire Lord. According to Ozai, his father ordered him to kill Zuko. Ursa found out however, and she and Ozai made a plan where Ozai would be Fire Lord, and Zuko would be spared. Ozai stated that she commited vicious acts of treason, and for her treason, she was banished. Ozai didn't seem that upset that he lost his wife, as being Fire Lord was likely enough to make him feel better.

Aang
Ozai never formally met the Avatar until the end of the series. When he found out Aang was alive, he took immediate action, promoting Zhao to Admiral to increase his chances of capturing the Avatar. Ozai also ordered wanted posters to be hung all over the Earth Kingdom to increase his chances of capturing Aang. Ozai finally faces Aang on the day of Sozin's Comet. At first they seem to be evenly matched in their fight. However, Aang's hestitation to kill Ozai gives Ozai the advantage. Ozai nearly defeats Aang until he accidentally opens Aang's Seventh Charkra, sending him into the Avatar State. Aang easily overwhelmes Ozai while in the Avatar State, but instead of killing him, he takes his bending away using Energybending. This resulted in Ozai's defeat and imprisonment.

Team Avatar
Besides Zuko and Aang, Ozai never formally met the rest of Team Avatar. However he did breifly meet Sokka, Toph, and Suki right after Aang defeated him. Seeing he was powerless, the three of them came up with nicknames like, "The Loser Lord", "Phoenix King of Getting His Butt Whooped", and "King of The Guys Who.... Don't Win" (which was comically made by Suki). Poor Ozai could only lie down and drool while hearing those insults.