Tenzin's relationships

This page is comprised of Tenzin's relationships with other characters in the Avatar World. Tenzin is a quiet and calm man with a great sense of responsibility toward the people of Republic City.

Aang
Tenzin was the only one of Avatar Aang's children who inherited his father's airbending. As the only living airbending master, Aang taught him, and Tenzin mastered the skill, earning his arrows. The two developed a good relationship; the Avatar even built a new air temple for his son and his family. Tenzin highly respects his father as his mentor, and rarely addresses him as "father" unlike his mother. Instead, Tenzin calls him "Avatar Aang" whenever the latter is brought up in a conversation. However, it is notable that when he does refer to Aang as such, the topic of conversation usually has to do with the responsibility of being the Avatar, whereas his referring to Aang as "father" can be observed when the conversation turns to Aang in a familiar setting.

Tenzin respects his father and still misses him. When he was heading to Air Temple Island on his boat, he looked up at Aang's statue with sorrow before solemnly bowing his head. When Tarrlok suggested that he was emulating Aang's past actions in the council, Tenzin quickly and defensively chastised him for being arrogant enough to think himself to be as good as "Avatar Aang".

Being a member of the United Republic Council, Tenzin feels a great responsibility for the welfare of Republic City and its inhabitants. His original desire was to protect the metropolis. This may have stemmed from the fact that his father helped to found the entire United Republic. If this is so, it shows how much Tenzin wishes to please his father, both then and now. Being the son of Aang, a true spiritualist, Tenzin is ashamed that despite his extensive training and study of the subject, he has yet to achieve a connection to the Spirit World like his father.

During his vacation with his family and siblings, Tenzin is forced to acknowledge that his father had several faults, including unintentionally favoring him over his siblings, which he felt he needed to rectify by apologizing on Aang's behalf for.

When Tenzin was lost in the Fog of Lost Souls and began to succumb to the mental deterioration of the place, he attempted to remind himself of who he was by constantly reminding himself that he was the son of Avatar Aang and the hope of future generations of airbenders. When a vision of Aang appeared before his son, Tenzin profusely apologized to his father for failing to continue his work. The late airbender solemnly told his son that he only failed because he spent his entire life trying to be like him, holding on to a false perception of himself. Aang told Tenzin that they were different people and that was how it should be. Realizing that he had to live his own life, Tenzin was able to finally step out of his father's shadow and awaken his spiritual side, dispersing the fog long enough to save himself as well as his daughter and siblings.

Children
"If Amon got his hands on my children... I hate to even think of it."

As evidenced by Ikki and Jinora's reaction to Korra accusing Tenzin of being a "terrible teacher", Tenzin has a loving relationship with his two daughters and son. His daughters immediately comforted him when he appeared crestfallen, and he was not at all surprised by their gestures. Despite facing testy parenting issues, namely Jinora's growing interest in boys, Ikki's uncontrollable verbosity, and Meelo's constant mischief, Tenzin still loves his children dearly. He also has a good relationship with his youngest son, Rohan, being able to soothe the boy and making him laugh.

After the United Republic Council was disbanded, Tenzin used his time to spend more time with his children, something he thoroughly enjoyed as he regretted that he had put his duty to the city before their needs in the past.

Katara
"Hello, mother. I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. Please, help me."

When Tenzin and his family traveled to the Southern Water Tribe compound, Katara was eagerly awaiting the arrival of her youngest son and her grandchildren. Once he arrived, Tenzin briefly bowed with respect to his mother. When Tenzin revealed that his family would not be moving to the compound as planned and would only be staying for one night, Katara appeared quite disappointed. During the Glacier Spirits Festival, Katara watched as Tenzin was teased by his siblings during the royal feast. When Tenzin was ready to leave, Katara insisted he take his siblings to visit their father's home together, telling him that he'd appreciate the time he had with his siblings when he got to her age.

Kya
"He's probably scared I'll beat him up like when we were kids. I'm not scared of you... anymore."

Katara mentioned that Tenzin, while growing up, had always had a very different personality than his older siblings; while his older sister Kya was rambunctious, he retained a more serious and calm demeanor. Kya loves to tease her youngest brother, and while growing up, she liked to play rough games with him, causing Tenzin to be afraid of her some times.

Bumi
"Great, now I have to entertain my brother."

Katara mentioned that Tenzin, while growing up, had always had a very different personality than his older siblings, While his older brother Bumi was rambunctious, he retained a more serious and calm demeanor. When Bumi arrived at Air Temple Island after Amon's defeat, Tenzin sighed and muttered, "Now I have to entertain my brother", evidence that he struggles to cope with Bumi's hyperactive and bouncy nature. However, after Bumi retired from the United Forces, Tenzin allowed him to stay with him and his family on Air Temple Island.

Lin Beifong
"Lin, with so much on the line, it would be nice if we could help each other out, at least for one night.' 'Like old times?' 'Like old times."

Lin and Tenzin seem to have a distant, yet professional, relationship. The two were romantically involved in their younger years, but began to drift apart after a while, one of the reasons being Lin's lack of interest toward having children unlike Tenzin. Tenzin broke it off after Pema confessed her love to him. Lin tried unsuccessfully to get Pema thrown into jail afterward, and caused damage to Air Temple Island in a fit of rage. Presently, despite there still being some tension between the two, they seem to regard each other with respect, as Tenzin managed to convince Lin to release Korra after she was detained by the Metalbending Police Force. Even with the tension and distance between them, they also worked closely together while monitoring the Pro-bending Championship and during the subsequent investigations into Cabbage Corp and Future Industries. Sometime later, Tenzin asked Lin to protect his family in his absence while he met with the council. Lin accepted, acknowledging him as an old friend. He later showed concern for Lin after she left to take down the Equalist airships and agreed with his son when Meelo commented, "That lady is my hero," referring to Lin.

Pema
"Pema, let me help you. Careful now, careful.' 'Stop doting on me. I'm not helpless, I'm just pregnant."

Pema and Tenzin got to know each other at Air Temple Island, where she was part of the Air Acolytes that had moved there to learn the ways of the Air Nomads. At that time, Tenzin was in a relationship with Lin Beifong, but Pema fell in love with him nonetheless. Albeit shy and scared of rejection at first, she eventually mustered up the courage to admit her true feelings to him. Those feelings were reciprocated by him, as he broke off his relationship with Lin and eventually married Pema. Together, the two started a family which consists of four children, two daughters and two sons.

Tenzin is very protective of Pema, especially when she was pregnant, and wants to assist her in any way he can. Tenzin holds his wife's opinion in high regards and they live happily together on Air Temple Island with their children.

Korra
"You... you were right. I've been scared this whole time. I've never felt like this before and I don't know what to do.' 'Admitting your fears is the first and most difficult step in overcoming them."

Tenzin allowed Korra to stay with him in the Air Temple after disagreeing with Lin's decision of sending Korra back to the Southern Water Tribe. Having Korra stay with his family changed his peaceful life, and his obligations increased as well. Aside from protecting Republic City as a council member, he also has to teach Korra airbending and the spiritual aspects of being the Avatar.

Tenzin also plays the part of a father figure for Korra. He became very protective over her when she moved to Republic City. For example, he almost sent out search parties to look for Korra when she did not return home while she was looking for Bolin. Furthermore, Tenzin prohibited her from watching pro-bending as she had come to the city to learn airbending. Although he eventually let her participate, Tenzin watched the final tournament, just to make sure Korra was safe. Tenzin also noticed Korra's fear of Amon and asked her about her real reason for refusing to join Tarrlok's task force, telling her that it is okay to be afraid sometimes. At her denial, he reassured her that she could tell him anything whenever she wanted. After the Avatar's encounter with Amon, Tenzin found her at Aang Memorial Island, where Korra finally admitted her fears, crying in his arms while he comforted her. He was also very concerned when Korra was captured by Tarrlok and even threatened to attack him if he did not reveal where Korra was.

Tenzin was very concerned for Korra when she lost her bending to Amon. However, when Korra regained her powers and entered the Avatar State, he was incredibly proud of her and relieved that she had her bending back. When she restored Lin's bending, he addressed her as "Avatar Korra".

Six months later, their relationship took a turn for the worse, due to Korra's impatience with her airbending training, and her learning that Tenzin was involved in the decision to keep her secluded at the Southern Water Tribe. Because of this and Tenzin's inability to handle a spirit attack, Korra took up her uncle Unalaq's offer to be her spiritual mentor. Tenzin, while hurt, declared it had been an honor serving her.

Later at the Eastern Air Temple, Tenzin received a surprise visit from Korra. Despite their shaky relation when they last met, Tenzin welcomed Korra back. After learning of Unalaq's ulterior motives, Korra blamed herself for causing a huge disaster. Tenzin told her not to blame herself and offered his services as the Avatar's spiritual mentor once more. However, after repeated failed attempts to guide Korra to the Spirit World in the Eastern Air Temple, he reluctantly resigned to Korra's wish to follow the dragonfly bunny spirits Jinora found, leading them to an ancient airbender meditation circle. After witnessing Korra's purification technique, Tenzin expressed shame at his inability to be of any true help to her. Korra was quick to refute his words, stating his undying loyalty, and apologized for "turning [her] back on [him]". Tenzin promised not to let her down, and the duo fixed their estranged relationship. When his final attempts to cross over failed, he eventually let Jinora take over, giving both of them his well wishes and encouragements.

During Harmonic Convergence, Tenzin found an unconscious Korra. Upon learning of the end of the Avatar cycle, Tenzin attempted to console the distraught Korra, assuring her that not all hope is lost and imparted her with the knowledge of connecting with cosmic energies of the universe to stop Vaatu. When Korra's spirit returned to her body and the Avatar cycle was recreated, Tenzin commended her, stating that "[she was] amazing".

Iroh
Before Iroh chose to cross over to the Spirit World around 131 AG, Tenzin knew the great general as a good friend of his father. When Tenzin roamed the Spirit World in 171 AG in search for his daughter and became lost, Iroh appeared to help Tenzin and his siblings return the material world. While happy to see his old friend again, Tenzin insisted that he would not leave without Jinora. Despite Iroh's warnings that the area was significantly disturbed due to Vaatu's release, the old general understood Tenzin's wish, and imparted a cryptic message to him, which led Tenzin straight to the Fog of Lost Souls, where he found his daughter.

Mako
"We need to be patient with her. It will take time for her to accept what has happened."

Originally, Tenzin only knew Mako as Korra's pro-bending teammate, and due to his personal views against pro-bending, Tenzin did not interact much with Mako. However, as the Equalists began taking a more active approach against Republic City, Mako's budding relationship with Korra made the airbending master converse more with the firebender. Tenzin later even allowed him and his brother Bolin to live at Air Temple Island after losing their home at the Pro-bending Arena. When the Equalists captured Tenzin and his family, and Amon was about to strip Tenzin of his airbending, Mako directed a lightning strike at the stage and diverted the attention away from the airbenders while Korra freed them. Afterwards, Tenzin sincerely thanked the young firebender. When Korra fell into depression over losing three of her bending abilities to Amon, Tenzin offered Mako some advice about how to approach Korra regarding his new feelings for the young Avatar.

Amon
"I believe you. I don't know how Amon has achieved this power, but this means the revolution is more dangerous than ever. No bender is safe."

Tenzin considered Amon a great threat to Republic City and was concerned about how the city would react to his revolution. Unlike Tarrlok, however, Tenzin did not favor any direct action against Amon, thinking it would escalate into a civil war.

Equalists
"... Republic City is at war."

As a member of the United Republic Council, Tenzin took the Equalists' threat seriously, though he wished to see it handled to a point where balance was retained between benders and nonbenders. Tenzin first encountered the Equalists in the Pro-bending Arena during their ambush. He and Lin Beifong were attacked, both of them stunned by electrified gloves. Following the completion of their attack and subsequent escape, Tenzin declared that Republic City was at war with the Equalists. Days later, Tenzin, Lin, Korra, and members of the Metalbending Police Force ambushed the Sato estate after receiving tips of a secret underground factory in operation. However, the Equalists planned everything out and ambushed the investigating party. Tenzin held his own for as long as he could, but like his associates, he was stunned by Hiroshi Sato and left unconscious before they were rescued.

Hiroshi Sato
Before knowing Hiroshi Sato's real personality, Tenzin never suspected that he could be an Equalist sympathizer. When Korra told him and Lin Beifong about the phone conversation she had overheard Sato having, he concurred with Lin that he had the means and a motive to be allied with the Equalists. After getting a tip about Hiroshi's involvement with the revolutionary group, he accompanied Korra, Lin, and several metalbending officers during the raid of the secret factory beneath Sato's mansion, where they were ambushed by the industrialist and some Equalists.

Tarrlok
"This is just another one of your ploys to gain more power isn't it?"

Tenzin and Tarrlok served together on the United Republic Council until the latter's secret past and abilities were exposed. They had a contentious relationship and a long-standing rivalry, almost always disagreeing in every council meeting. When Tarrlok went to Air Temple Island in an attempt to recruit Korra into his task force, Tenzin was very hostile toward him and only reluctantly allowed him to stay. Tenzin and Tarrlok briefly agreed when they both decided to shut down the Pro-bending Arena. However, Tarrlok recanted after Lin Beifong intervened.

Later, Tarrlok kidnapped Korra, using the art of bloodbending. After finding the Equalist headquarters, Tenzin realized that Tarrlok must have been the one who had kidnapped Korra. He chased down Tarrlok, and found him at the City Hall. There, the Council page informed him, Lin, the Council, and the rest of Team Avatar that Tarrlok was a bloodbender. Upon this revelation, Tarrlok used bloodbending to knock out Tenzin as well as the others, and fled the scene.