Azula was in a pretty bad shape after Avatar: The Last Airbender ended. Her paranoia and narcissism evolved into a full-blown mental breakdown even after she was named Fire Lord by her father, Ozai. When Zuko and Katara arrived to challenge Azula’s claim to the Fire Nation throne, they found the usually calm and calculating firebender deep in a rage. Zuko used her instability in his favor during their Agni Kai, and with Katara’s help managed to imprison his sister and take the title of Fire Lord. But that wasn’t the end of Azula.
A firebender prodigy, Azula was convinced of her superiority since childhood. She was favored by her father, Ozai, over Zuko and praised by her grandfather Fire Lord Azulon. She was often accompanied by Ty Lee and Mai, both loyal friends. Her life was practically perfect, with one exception: her relationship with her mother. Azula believed Ursa loved Zuko more. Her mother often scolded Azula for her disrespectful behavior and unkind comments, giving Azula the impression Ursa thought her daughter was a monster. After Ursa disappeared, Azula buried her resentment deep inside, but eventually it all came to surface during the events of the sequel comic story The Search.
Out of pity for her fragile state of mind, Zuko places Azula in a mental institution for a year. However, in his quest to find the truth about what happened to Ursa, Zuko seeks Azula’s help. He takes her to their father’s prison in hopes he will talk to Azula about Ursa’s fate. Instead, Azula uses this opportunity to escape. Knowing Zuko’s quest was the perfect leverage; Azula goes to Ozai’s secret chambers and reads Ursa’s old letters, burning them after. She convinces Zuko she’s his only real chance at finding their mother. He agrees to take her with him in his quest, and for a time, Azula joins Team Avatar.
What Zuko doesn’t know is that Azula is still being haunted by hallucinations of Ursa. Believing her mother is behind all her problems, including Ty Lee and Mai’s betrayal, Azula is determined to find her mother and kill her. Finally, the team discovers that Ursa had asked the Mother of Faces, Koh’s mother, to change her face to start a new life. As Noriko, she remarried and had a daughter. This revelation drives Azula to the edge, and she confronts her mother face-to-face. She accuses Ursa of replacing her with a new daughter and tries to kill her.
Ursa, realizing she was somewhat at fault for the past, apologizes for not loving Azula enough. In tears, Azula is distracted long enough for Zuko to intervene. The siblings fight, with Azula taunting Zuko and suggesting he could have killed her during the journey. Zuko responds by assuring her that no matter how complicated their relationship gets, she will always be his sister. At this, Azula stops fighting and runs away instead, despite Zuko begging her to stay and let him help her.
Later, Azula reappears in the comic series Smoke and Shadow, leading a group of firebenders she befriended and freed from the mental institution in The Search. Now more mentally stable, she enacts a plan to test and mold Zuko’s leadership abilities as Fire Lord. Knowing that Mai’s father was still loyal to Ozai and wanted to depose Zuko, Azula manipulates him to do her bidding and turn public opinion against Zuko. But her goal isn’t to bring back Ozai. To Zuko, she admits finally embracing her destiny, accepting him as the true Fire Lord and her role as his shadowy advisor. Although still very dangerous and manipulative, Azula believes she’s doing Zuko a favor, helping him gain confidence in himself as Fire Lord by challenging him in secret.
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