Talk:Iroh/@comment-142.167.214.201-20110504013939/@comment-743796-20110504015240

I think he was so distraught after his son's death that he made a commitment to change some of his ways, even though he was more or less what he was in the series proper. This probably sparked a crisis of confidence similar to what Zuko experienced late in Book 2. At that point, he was likely trying to gain enlightenment, and he achieved that by somehow visiting the Spirit World.