Highlights

Azula serves as a contrast to Zuko in terms of their upbringing and support system, lacking the love and guidance that Zuko receives from his mother and uncle.
Azula's loyalty to her father and commitment to darkness ultimately leads to her mental breakdown, while Zuko's redemption arc proves to be the correct path.
The absence of love and support in Azula's life highlights the potential for redemption and the role that love plays in overcoming trauma and darkness.

One of the most lauded aspects of Avatar: The Last Airbender is the redemption arc of Prince Zuko. His story is thoroughly explored, deeply moving, and unlike many redemption arcs, actually has the character face the consequences of his actions rather than simply turn good and then die. Exempt from any such character arc, however, is his sister, Azula.

While Azula is certainly an incredibly popular character, fans are divided on whether this treatment of her was fair. Some love the fact that Azula is evil until the bitter end, while others find it cruel to give her such a fate given how similar her origin is to Zuko's.

Avatar The Last Airbender: What Could Have Happened To The Airbenders?

It’s said that Aang was the last airbender by the start of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it’s possible he was only the last practicing airbender.

The Tragic Tale of Azula

Azula's primary function in the series is to serve as a point of contrast for Zuko. From the moment the audience is introduced to Prince Zuko, they are meant to sympathize with him in spite of his status as an antagonist. He doesn't win over the viewer's trust completely, as he is still loyal to the genocidal Fire Nation and is trying to harm and capture the heroes. However, Zuko's backstory and reason for hunting the Avatar are told and quickly soften the audience's feelings towards him. He was trying to do the right thing, in spite of the culture he was brought up in, and for that he was banished and scarred. In addition to his history, he demonstrates a lack of brutality towards those around him and cares for the crew assisting him, making it clear that his actions do not come from a place of pure malice. Perhaps most importantly, he is beloved by Iroh, a character viewers can very quickly recognize as virtuous and pure of heart. His faith in Zuko makes the audience have faith in him as well.

Azula lacks any of these traits. She appears to have the love and support of her father, revels in being vicious and brutal, and lacks a connection to any obviously good-hearted character. In many ways, she represents everything Zuko aspires to be. Zuko struggles to become a great Firebender, developing strong techniques slowly and never managing to learn to bend lightning. Azula, on the other hand, is a Firebending prodigy, easily becoming one of the most powerful warriors in Fire Nation history. Zuko lacks the ruthlessness and willingness to kill that the Fire Lord expects from his children, while Azula loves violence and destruction. And for these reasons, Azula is the clear favorite of Fire Lord Ozai, while Zuko is blatantly cast aside and loathed by their father.

As the series progresses and Zuko's redemption arc kicks into full gear, the contrast shifts to focus on what Zuko has that Azula does not. The one thing Zuko always had was someone who truly loved him. As children, their mother, Ursa, was very close to Zuko. Having been forced into the marriage by Ozai and abused by him, she grew to fear Azula as she began to take after her father more and more.

Zuko's primary caretaker, however, was of course his uncle Iroh. Iroh accompanied Zuko in his banishment and chose to betray the Fire Nation in order to stay by his side. He constantly pushed Zuko towards the light, encouraging him to be who he wanted to be, not who he was expected to be. Even when Zuko betrayed him, Iroh was never angry at his nephew, only sad for his loss. There was never a point in Zuko's life, even at his lowest, where there was not someone who believed in him, someone who truly wanted the best for him.

"My own mother... thought I was a monster. She was right, of course, but it still hurt."

Azula never had this. Her mother saw her as a monster, something Azula was aware of and bothered by, as much as she didn't want to admit it. Iroh similarly thought Azula was crazy and a threat to Zuko. Both of their fears largely stemmed from their desire to protect Zuko, who Azula treated cruelly. In their mission to keep Zuko safe, however, these two adults left Azula unprotected and at the mercy of Fire Lord Ozai.

Ozai ostensibly looks like the main person in Azula's corner, but he viewed her as a weapon rather than a daughter. His love for her was nothing but a facade, meant to allow him to gain her unquestionable loyalty. Ozai's favor for Azula was conditional, and his distaste for Zuko only a tool to maintain an advantage over her. Zuko's status was a constant threat to Azula; if she did not do what Ozai expected of her, she would end up like him. Azula didn't have a soul in the world she could count on to be on her side. All she had was approval conditional on her living up to the impossible standard of a bloodthirsty warlord.

Where the Future Takes Azula

Over the course of the series, Zuko slowly overcomes his upbringing and turns towards the light. He manages to earn back the approval of his father and regain his place in the Fire Nation, only to discover that what he once thought he wanted doesn't give him fulfillment. He then turns away from his father and sides with Avatar Aang, ending the series a hero. Azula does not share the same fate. She remains loyal to her father all through his final conquest, but she begins to crack under the immense pressure she has been placed under. In the final agni kai for the Fire Nation throne, she loses to the duo of Zuko and Katara. Azula is overcome by Zuko due to the one advantage he always held over her: he was never alone. In defeat, she finally breaks down, screaming and sobbing in agony.

Within the context of the original series, Azula's arc serves its intended purpose. Zuko's turn towards the light is proven to have been the correct choice, as siding with conquest only led to Azula's mental disintegration. As the Avatar franchise moved forwards, however, Azula's allegiance remained with the darkness. In the followup comics, Azula has been placed in what is essentially a psyche ward. She goes on to accompany Zuko and friends on a quest to find their mother, faking being calm and helpful long enough to attack Zuko when he is alone. Having given up on taking the throne directly, she seeks to corrupt Zuko to his old ways, making him bitter and vicious once again. Once this is accomplished, she reasons, she will in a sense once again be the Fire Lord. Azula's official story ends not with her joining Zuko in the light, but trying to drag him back into darkness.

In some ways, this is not a terrible conclusion to Azula's character arc. She is absolutely not a one-note villain, evil for the sake of being evil. One can very clearly see the path she was forced down, the manipulation she was subject to and how she became who she was in order to survive. Fittingly, her defeat is not satisfying, but tragic. There is no joy to be taken from this young woman finally collapsing due to the pressure she never should have been subject to. It can be seen as a tragic, but more true to life ending. Not everyone needs a happy ending.

The issue is that the specific factor that separates Azula and Zuko is the presence of love. Azula was ruthless and sadistic even as a child, but the blame that Ozai holds in this cannot be overstated, twisting her to be what he wanted. What allowed Zuko to overcome his history and trauma was the support of others. He had his mother to give him a foundation of kindness, Iroh to help him cross over to the good side, and his new friends on Team Avatar to help him once he was there. Azula never had anyone to help her do any of this. It seems like the most satisfying conclusion to her story would be for her to find redemption, and for the person who helped her get there to be Zuko himself. After finding his way back to the light with the support of those who loved him, he could do the same for his sister and finally give her what she never had.