Azula's relationships

This page comprises of Azula's relationships with other characters in the series, all of which she has jeopardized through her cruelty.

Fire Lord Ozai
Explicitly stated by Zuko, Azula is favored by their father, Fire Lord Ozai; Azula's cruelty and sadism is only matched by her father's. As Firebending prodigy and the favored sibling, everyone adored her and, judging by her ship and soldiers, she was given the better treatment. In the final seconds of the season one finale, Fire Lord Ozai gave her the task of capturing Zuko and Iroh. In the first episode of the third season, Azula demonstrates her lack of loyalty to even her own father; she is willing to lie, even to him, for her own ends.

Princess Ursa
Little has been revealed of the relationship between Azula and her mother, Ursa, granddaughter of Avatar Roku. It is known that she cared deeply for the neglected Zuko, despite her daughter Princess Azula having better Firebending powers. This is a direct contrast to her husband Ozai's feelings towards his children, who has stated that while Azula was "born lucky", Zuko was "lucky to be born." It is also seen that Azula was often scolded by Ursa for the unkind and disrespectful remarks she made about her brother, uncle, or grandfather.

In "Zuko Alone," Azula tells Zuko that his father was going to have to kill him after angering the then Fire Lord Azulon. Zuko tells himself that Azula is just lying, but as his mom gives him her final goodbyes, she states that everything she has done has been to protect him. It is eventually revealed that did "vicious, treasonous" actions that night in order to save Zuko, resulting in Azulon's death and her banishment. It is noted, however, that Azula seems to show no concern or sadness at all over the death of her grandfather or the disappearance of her own mother, especially when it becomes known that Ozai will be crowned Fire Lord; like her father Ozai, family seems to be pale in comparison to her desire for power.

In "The Beach", when her turn comes to share a revelation of her life, Azula remarks that she was well aware Ursa loved Zuko more, but unlike her brother doesn't obsess over it. She does however reveal how it hurt that her own mother thought she was a monster, albeit halfheartedly, as she goes on to state it was true.

Prince Zuko
Zuko, a.k.a. Zuzu (The nickname in which Azula calls him) is Azula's older brother, but there is no love between the two. Even though she is the younger sibling, Azula has been known to lie to Zuko and take pleasure in torturing him; though Zuko knew that "Azula always lies" (as he repeatedly chants, seemingly to convince himself, in "Zuko Alone"), she was often able to manipulate him. This is most notable in "The Crossroads of Destiny," when she uses his hope of redemption to make him betray Iroh and join her in attacking the Avatar and conquering Ba Sing Se. It seems as if the two didn't always harbor hatred towards each other. As children they got along much better than as teenagers, but this may have only been because of the presence of their mother and/or uncle.

However, following their alliance, Azula's relationship with her brother gradually begins to take a drastic change. She express concern over Zuko after discovering that he had been secretly visiting an imprisoned Iroh visits, warning him that if it were to be discovered that he was meeting with their uncle, it could be misinterpreted as conspiracy. During their vacation to Ember Island, Azula shares nostalgia and depression with her brother as they pay visit to their family's decrepit summer beach-house. Along with Mai and Ty Lee, Azula later on helps Zuko realize why he is still so angry, assuming the role of interpreter as they each share revelations of their life experiences that shaped them into who they are. When her turn comes, Azula admits that she is well aware that their mother loved Zuko more, but unlike her brother, doesn't feel the need to care or spend her time complaining about it. Although, with each act of compassion towards her brother, Azula ensures to couple it with her usual coldheartedness, a performance reminiscent to that of a love hate relationship. Azula condescendingly instructs Zuko to be more careful in regards to Iroh, ending her warning with the use of his old nickname of "dum-dum" for effect. When Zuko finally brings himself to confide his feelings of uncertainty and confusion towards Azula, she impulsively deems him pathetic.

Iroh
Like Zuko, Iroh cares little for Azula. Even as a child, Azula had a considerably low opinion of her uncle; she referred to him as "His Royal Tea-loving Kookiness", promptly torched a doll he had sent her from an Earth Kingdom city and called Iroh a "quitter and loser" for losing heart and failing to capture Ba Sing Se after the death of his son Lu Ten. She also expressed excitement at the idea that he might die in battle, which would put Ozai in line for the throne. Once, in "The Chase," she attacked Iroh with a fire blast---after she had, as she put it, "surrendered with honor"---and severely wounded him. Unlike Zuko, Iroh is not blinded by emotion and can see through Azula's lies. Despite Iroh's tendencies to avoid unnecessary conflict, he goes as far as teaching Zuko more difficult bending techniques in order to help him defeat her. Iroh is one of the few other characters who has been shown with the ability to create lightning, and has demonstrated the technique of redirecting lightning, of which Azula has no knowledge. Azula also acknowledges him as her "Old Fuddy-Duddy Uncle". In "The Crossroads of Destiny," while Azula was trying to manipulate Zuko into taking over Ba Sing Se, Iroh was trying to convince him to let go of trying to restore his honor and "choose good".

Lu Ten
Not much is known about Azula's relationship with Iroh's son, her cousin Lu Ten. When, in "Zuko Alone," Ursa informs her children that "Iroh has lost his son. Your cousin, Lu Ten, did not survive the battle", Zuko is shown to be very shocked and sad by the news, while Azula is shown in the background with an unclear expression. Her feelings about Lu Ten, both before and after his passing, remain a mystery.

Aang
Aang, as the Avatar, has become Azula's target along with her brother and uncle. In their first encounters, she nearly defeats him, normally forcing him to flee. However, he proves that, with newly learned bending skills, he can stand against her. In "The Drill," Aang defeats her in battle with a little help from Momo though the victory was hard fought. In "The Crossroads of Destiny," she attempts to take on Aang and Katara on her own but is clearly outmatched. Zuko however, quickly shows up and aids her in battle. After a long battle, and being out numbered with the recent arrival of the Dai Li, Aang attempts to go into the Avatar State, but is attacked by Azula before he can complete the transformation.

When Azula and Zuko return home, Azula informs Fire Lord Ozai that it was Zuko who struck the Avatar; shielding herself in the event that the Avatar survived the attack.

Mai
Mai seems to regard Azula as a friend; however, Azula treats Mai with as little concern as with she does with Ty Lee. Throughout their childhood, Azula was known for trickery, such as causing her brother Zuko to fall with Mai into the water in order to laugh at them.

In an interesting note, Mai does not necessarily fear Azula, as shown in the episode "The Drill," where Mai refused an order from Azula to chase Sokka and Katara in the drill's waste system ("She can shoot all the lightning she wants at me - I am not going in that wall sludge juice"). In another occasion, she also allows Sokka, Toph and the Earth King free to escape with the king's pet bear Bosco in "The Crossroads of Destiny", either due to the fact she didn't feel like fighting them or that she didn't want to deal with Bosco anymore. However, these incidents have occurred in the absence of Azula; it is not known how Mai would have acted if she was around. It seems that Mai might be hesitant to defy the princess outright, but still has given Azula dark looks when the princess's back was turned.

Ty Lee
Like Mai, Ty Lee regards Azula as a friend and even openly displays admiration for her, but ever since they were both children, she hasn't treated Ty Lee as such. Because Azula cannot stand to be "number two", even as a child, she shoved Ty Lee to the ground when she could do acrobatic flips that Azula couldn't. Azula also bullied an unwilling Ty Lee into joining her search for the Avatar, her brother, and uncle while she was doing a performance, forcing the ringmaster to set fire to the net underneath her and releasing the most dangerous animals. In "The Beach", she laughs when Zuko calls Ty Lee a "circus freak". Despite this, Azula has been known to be occasionally respectful and somewhat caring toward Ty Lee. When she makes Ty Lee cry by telling her that no boy cares for her as a person, she apologizes quickly and even admits that it was her own insecurity that shaped that comment, Proving that even she can care when she feels like it.