I agree with you about her redemption. The storyteller in me is like, "Her ending is perfect, no redemption." but the humanity in me is like, "Please help this tennage girl find peace."

Azula is the most well-written character after Zuko. Almost every scene, every line, and every fight she’s in is perfect. One of my favorite moments in ATLA is when Azula finds out about Zuko visiting Iroh in prison and just tells him to be careful. It’s so small but it’s one of the few moments that Azula shows genuine empathy.

In many ways, Azula was the unlucky one. She was born with all the traits to thrive in a toxic, broken system of values. This system was never going to work for anyone but the dictator at the top of it, but she could never have realized that with how well it treated her up until it suddenly stopped.

A child soldier, doomed from the start. Her story is a tragedy and a cautionary tale.

Azula is honestly one of my favorites from Avatar. Her father teaches her that trust is a weakness. That love is for fools. Because he doesn't love his own family. He plots against his brother in his time of emotional grief, he plays a part in his father's death, scars his own child, and then separates Azula from her mother by teaching her how to do things his way. Azula then goes to keep everyone at arms length. Except for Mai and Ty Lee. And even with them, she still employs some of the manipulation techniques that her father told her worked so well. After all, he's the Firelord. One of the most powerful and influential people alive. He is living proof that using people gets you what you want. That it makes you truly happy. So she does that. She tells herself that, "almost isn't good enough" whenever she slips up even a little bit. Everything has to be perfect. Because when his children are less than perfect, they get treated like Zuko. But Ozai could never treat Azula like Zuko. He obviously has trust in her. She takes down most of team Avatar, she nearly drills into Ba Sing Se, she almost takes out her uncle(a powerful thorn in the side of anyone he goes against), she infiltrated the impenetrable city and brought it down from the inside. "You were never even a player." She brought down the Avatar and had it not been for spiritual water, would've ended the cycle there and then. She has a small slip of emotion when talking about how her mother treated her and gives a small glimpse at her insecurities but quickly brushes it aside. She holds off Team Avatar even when she doesn't have her bending. Then it all falls apart during the boiling rock. Mai loves Zuko more than he fears her. But that's impossible. Ozai said fear was the only rational way. Then Ty Lee betrays her as well. An even further impossibility. It can't be happening. Then Ozai looks at all of the hard work she's done and casts her aside. He gives her a position and then immediately makes an even better one for himself and leaves her at home. After everything she's done, he treats her like Zuko. Azula then begins to panic. Because fear isn't working. Everyone is either leaving or she makes them leave because she's starting to fear that they'll inevitably betray her. To the point where she has to imagine her mother telling her that she LOVES her. Azula smashes the mirror as she realizes that her father left her with nothing. And it all culminates in that final battle. Where she makes mistakes that she would never have made. Slips up. And has a breakdown. Because she was supposed to have everything. She had fear. Zuko was supposed to have nothing. He had weakness. He had love. So why were the roles reversed? Why did her father abandon her? Why did her friends leave? All of that on the shoulders of a 14 year old girl. And it broke her. And that makes Azula's story so tragic to me.

Azula needs a hug and some friends.

Azula’s psychology is one of the best written aspects in Avatar. As evil as she is, and as young as she is, it’s also truly heartbreaking to see how her story ends in the series when you remember her circumstances she grew up in and how young she is.

I think Azula would have been really broken when Mai chose Zuko. But I think Ty Lee betraying her to save Mai is really what made her start to crack. Both of them betraying her in one instant was too much for her to handle. Mai was always standoffish and outspoken despite yielding to Azula’s demands. She would be the one to betray her of the two. But the sweet and obedient Ty Lee turning was something she probably never expected

It speaks to the power of the story when you look at Azula’s character. She goes from this overconfident, smug bad girl who takes no chances to an insecure and vulnerable princess. I’m always amazed, because I pretty much despise her for a majority of Book 2. In Book 3, she feels a bit more quirky and “likable”. But that last shot of her as she watches Zuko and Katara together and begins to sob uncontrollably, as she realizes that Zuko has what she always desired. Genuine love to and from other people. It breaks my heart and I get teary eyed. It cemented my respect and appreciation for Azula as a whole. SUCH A GREAT SHOW 👏

There is a missing track, there is a comic called "the search" in which the search that Zuko and Aang undertake for Ursa is told. In that comic Urza's plan to save Zuko is shown, yes, Urza poisoned Azulón so that Ozai could usurp the throne. When Urza proposes the plan to Ozai tells him that he is going to take the children, Zuko and Azula, but Ozai tells her that he is going to keep them as hostages so she won't try to poison him or expose him. Urza does love Azula as much as Zuko, and to Ozai they are just life insurance.

I find Azula such a fascinating character. Especially the whole family dynamic because it's a pretty clear representation of an abusive childhood for zuko and azula. Azula is the golden child and zuko is the scapegoat and I think alot of people look at those roles and think the golden child isn't abused, cuz on the surface it doesn't look like most people's idea of abuse, but the golden child is still abused. They are held to impossible standards, they have to constantly walk on eggshells with their abuser and have to keep up the perfect golden child facade. I personally would love to see Azula get redeemed, just cuz I also had an emotionally abusive step father and my sister and I fell into the golden child/scapegoat dynamic and I can tell you that my sister is not happy to have been the golden child... I would love to see how they explore Azula's mental state and how they can deconstruct her father's brainwashing. It might be a little much with redemption for all the royal family members save Ozai lol, but honestly I think it fits into the show's themes really well. Like, if zuko can help his sister heal after ozai twisted and mangled her, then he can help the rest of the fire nation heal. If done well it can be a really interesting story for azula.

One thing I don’t think is brought up enough is that Azula lied to Ozai. She told Ozai that Zuko was the one who took down the avatar. She didn’t need to do that, but she did. She got Zuko’s banishment overturned and got him back into their fathers good graces. And I know she said that it was because that was she couldn’t be held accountable if Aang was alive, but she has no reason to think he survived. I think she was just using that as a justification to herself, because she’s been taught that attachment and trust us weak, so she can’t just want her brother back in her life. Zuko talked out of turn and got half of his face burned off, but Azula told the firelord an absolute massive lie just to benefit her brother, and I think she needs to get props for that.

I would more than be okay with Azula also getting redeemed. Partially because she's my favorite character but mostly because Iroh got redeemed off screen before we even met him and Azula is only 14 when she's doing all of this. I'm not saying she should be forgiven instantly or even forgiven at all but I would love to see her become more than what she is right now.

My friend and I discussed the possibility of an Azula redemption, and we concluded that what we want to see most is for Azula to heal, so that she may walk a path she chose for herself, apart from the shadow of Fire Lord Ozai. Whether she ends up being redeemed or not isn't really a major concern.

I agree with you about Azula. She was such a great villain with a tragic backstory. I think giving everyone a redemption arc would water the other ones down. It’s like bringing back a character who you thought died. You feel happy, but when all deaths are fake-outs, then it loses its potency. Let Azula have an emotional, self-reflective moment in the new movies, but don’t make it a rushed redemption that makes her all good now. Plus, I think her character is more interesting as an antagonist than another member of Team Avatar.

The comics make it more understandable how she could not have taken her kids imo, Ozai had kept a close eye on her Also, in Azula's case, nurture is obviously an issue, but I dont think we could rule out nature too. She seemed afraid of her nature too, she was afraid of being alone and was certain that she would be unless she makes people submit to her. When she saw her only 2 friends defy her, she realized that she is alone. Deep down she admits that her mother loved her but it also forces her to admit that she herself was the problem. Even if we can debate that it was Ozai who shaped her, to her, she only had herself to blame. And while we are talking about Azula being shaped by her parents and redeemed, do we consider the same for Ozai too? Azulon showed little empathy for even his own grandchildren

Azula is one of my favorite characters on the show. Very complex, and well written.

6:40 I always assumed Ursa tried to be there for Azula, but the girl never wanted to accept it. Ursa tries doing a girls spa day, and Azula spends the day belittling the staff cause that’s what Ozai taught her. Speaking of him, I’d e en believe if Ozai heard they were doing a girls day, he’d pull Azula for training instead. I definitely believe Azula heard “No! Stop that!” more than she heard “Wow! I’m so proud!” from her mother, but it was almost certainly because of Ozai’s influence. The poor kid was a Daddy’s girl through and through, and her dad was a monster.

As much as I love Aang's use of rocks like a gatling gun in his fight vs Ozai, there's just something about the Azula vs Zuko fight that puts it so far ahead as the best fight in Avatar. The music, the choreography, what's being said, what isn't being said, and how Zuko takes the loss for a fight he otherwise would have won in order to protect Katara, which is really just a sign of how far he's come. And Azula just screaming fire as she breaks down at the end is just the bow on top

I consider ATLA Azula to be the twisted reflection of Oozai that he warped her into, so the idea of a story where we get to see the real Azula emerge from her father's shadow sounds very interesting. And her redemption wouldn't necessarily mean becoming 'good,' just following Iroh's advice to Zuko, "Look inside and ask the real questions. Who are you? And what do you want?" Just hope it's done well.

She IS a child. Her story doesn’t HAVE to end, so I think a chance at redemption is honestly a perfect way to bring the story forward. They said it themselves, they wanted to explore that in show. I think the new story doing that is the way to go. Everyone should get a redemption. Everyone who deserves a happy ending, should get a happy ending.

I think she should be redeemed but in a different way from Zuko. I think a redemption arc where she still has to suffer the consequences of her actions will be great.

There's a good amount of characters that need some deep mental therapy, and Azula checks off those boxes while she's probably the best antagonist we got she needs some help frfr

I like your point about Azula (as a second child) being able to observe Zuko’s behaviors and the outcomes. To the points others have made about Ursa distancing herself from Azula, it’s also possible that Azula observed that being in her mother’s favor wouldn’t actually benefit her. The royal line is through her father, not her mother. We know that her mother was powerless to even prevent the marriage in the first place. But also, it’s true what you mentioned about when Azula was spiraling, her hallucination does seem to indicate that she knows her mother loved her, and that she knows that using fear is not as effective as actually being genuine and compassionate. It’s also important to remember that Ursa is Fire Nation. She wasn’t against the war necessarily. When Iroh sent the letter about burning Ba Sing Se down, she laughed along with Zuko and Azula.

There’s some underlying gender stereotypes with Iroh’s gifts but I don’t think he intended it that way. I always saw it as him encouraging traits that needed strengthening in each of them. Zuko got a dagger because he was the meeker, quieter child that needed more confidence and to learn to stand up for himself/his beliefs when necessary. Azula was brash and had a bit of a mean streak; a doll was intended to inspire gentler feelings like compassion, empathy, nurturing, etc. that she didn’t show often. At least that’s how I always read into it.

My favorite thing about the comics as they expanded the story. Why is how they showed that Zuko really cared about his family and started wanting to help his sister get better. The amount of care and sympathy that Zuko has been giving to Azula has been really great, and I really do hope that Azula gets a full redemption arc to where she can be in a positive, loving and supportive family again.

Azula's flirting was hot as hell honestly. I would certainly appreciate someone saying I could hack 50 supercomputers at once when I'm wearing a hoodie.

As a child Zukos and Azulas stories always resonated with me. Now I know it is because my father also was a narcissist who always compared me to my brother and other silbings and wanted to form us how he wanted. It is really hard to break ourt of this when you are basically born trapped with no outside perspective. And even then you have to spend a lot of time to heal - let alone find your own identity. Azulas and Zukos stories are truly tragic and show the reality that parents sometimes can be bad for their children and need to be distanced from. Even if it´s hard and most others in your life think differently.

It would be INCREDIBLY touching if we one day got to see a scene between Azula and Zuko that mirrored the the impactful scene where Iroh forgave Zuko and embraced him in a hug during his emotional apology.

I always loved her concept (though I'm not sure if it's proven right) that the arranged marriage between ozai and ursa, given that one comes from Sozen's line and the other comes from Roku's, was to produce a powerful prodigy. Hence why her flame is blue, which is hotter than red. I feel that high power fed into her ego. And even with all this, her mother sees her as a freak.

I wonder if Iroh seeing how Zuko was treated made him resent how his brother was wasting an opportunity to have a son when he had lost his own. I can imagine Iroh being vulnerable and reaching out to a lonely Zuko who's mother had left and father abused.

I love Azula. She is such and incredibly written character, and while all the characters are very well written, Azula is one that you can look at and see so many layers and is so beautifully written and incredibly complex. I love when she breaks it’s just so well done. She is just a twisted broken character in a beautiful written way.

Azula is currently my favorite character, and you did a great job of explaining why in this video

Her break down started after she got her butt kicked by Ty Lee, and Mai left her. She lost her flying mokeys, and her narcissistic supply(Zuko) is obviously more powerful and loved than her in the grand scheme. After that, She could no longer avoid looking in that mirror and FACING HERSELF!

Azula is great. Happy to see her be prominent in the comics too

Not every villain needs redeeming, but I love the idea of Zuko turning the love Iroh gave to him, onto his sister to help redeem her. When no one else would give her that chance, only Zuko would show her unconditional love and compassion and try to get her the help that she needs. I think something like that, if done well would be very powerful and emotional.

Azula's gradual mental breakdown in Book 3 is somewhere I don't think anybody expected the story to go based on how much she had it together in Book 2. And it never felt unearned. And I'd never seen a villain treated like that before. We've seen bad guys be their own undoing, but nothing like this. An incredible job by the writers.

Mmmmmm.... From a writing perspective, the most obvious way for Azula to be redeemed is for Iroh and Zuko to take her in and teach her what it means to be loved and to love, which, in my opinion, actually deepens their redemptions in that they're willing to go out of their way to pass that on to somebody who is, quite frankly, very dangerous, even if she is still a child.

I’d like to see Azula come into her own in the post-war world. If it’s well executed, I think it could feel just as weighty as Zuko’s while being completely different. She has different wounds to heal from. If they give us her forming a couple genuine connections and then navigate losing a connection or two in an (eventually) healthy way, she’ll have fully healed ♥️ love my lightning bending maniac ⚡️

Sometimes things need to be broken down so that they can be reshaped again... I think this was an amazing setup for her to start changing her way. I havent read the comics, but i have heard we see the start of that change there

I really love the interconnectedness of the characters and stories of this show... It's truly a work of art. Concept of betraying azula by mei is so brilliant ,mei family is really powerful prolly next to the royal blood interms of influence in the fire nation, I really think that when mei said those words she really mean it that she's not scared of her power because she already have those too.... It's like a theory craft but you can imagine this could be true just by how the show was presenting info to us... truly a well written show.

My favorite character by far

Decided years ago I'll be naming my daughter Azula. I can't wait. She's gonna be perfect and terrible.

Extremely thoughtful insight into an astounding character. I grew up (close enough) with the show and grew from seeing as another bully in an outsized fantastical world and situation, to seeing her as a tragic, abused and traumatized child. She’s a character you don’t forget. You’ve thought through and articulated a lot of those thoughts that linger at the back of my mind, but that I haven’t put the time and thought into to really see if they were anything, and you did it with compassion for both her value as a (fictional) human and her story’s value to the message and composition of the wider narrative. It was a delight to watch. Thanks!

Azula is truly a tragic character. I feel so bad for her. I am conflicted about her redemption arc. Everyone deserves a chance at happiness. I am not sure a snippet in a comic would be enough. But maybe Avatar Studios has plans for her.

I disagree with your take on Ursa leaving Zuko & Azula. Her son would def have been killed if she failed (probs herself as well), and Ozai has the entire fire nation behind him. She saved Zuko by leaving without the kids because that was the only realistic way to keep him alive.

Finally someone acknowledge Iroh prior to his son's death was just another invader

She is my favorite character, I can't help but feel they've all let her down, she was only 14 years old at the end of the series and no one has even tried to help her. Iroh ran after Zuko for ever trying to help him but no one even glanced at Azula even her mother dismissed her, only one who had interest in her was her father and he wasn't good influence to say the least.

Azula is a really well written character and she is scary.

What a beautiful breakdown of her character 😻

Its SOOOOOO easy to say "Ursa should have taken the childs away" BRUH THEIR FATHER IS THE FIRE LORD Ursa is no avatar and she has no flying bison, they wouldnt have gotten a day away from the castle before they were captured, and saying a day away is being generous, and at that point at lesst Zuko and her would be executed. How is she taking them away from a dude that is basically all powerful AND has the entire army of the most powerful nation in the world ready to do whatever he says? She didnt have any choice, she gave her life to protect him cause it was the only thing she had to give

I absolutely loved this video. Azula was such an interesting and tragic character in the series. While Zuko got his redemption, Azula just kept spiraling down throughout the entire series. Also.. thanks for the reminder that I need to dive into the comics! I have loved avatar since it first aired when I was younger, so I should definitely take time to read the comics, to see where the story goes.

21:58 Azula’s VA has said what she thinks would happen in a life changing field trip with Zuko. Wonder if they’ll go that route…

Speaking about her rumored "redemption" arc in future media: While I can't envision her as a goody-two-shoes hero (as she would lose a lot of her personality charm), I believe she can grow up as a person and it would be very interesting how she deals with trauma and mentally heal. She could also become an anti-hero with a tendency to do good actions, even if its for selfish reasons.

This Changed my Whole Perspective On Azula🤯

I love the video but I think you entirely missed the point of irohs gifts to zuko and azulas. He got them specifically BECAUSE he understood them so well. They both represent an attempt by iroh to guide the siblings in the direction he thinks they should. Zukos gift is a symbol of honor that tells him to never give up without a fight. Azulas gift is a doll, a universal symbol of innocence and childhood. Iroh saw zuko being unsure and wanted to encourage him to stand up for himself. Meanwhile he saw azula turning to cruelty and trying to be the perfect prodigy, and wanted to encourage her to embrace kindness and be more like a child. And how did the two characters respond to his encouragement? Zuko embraced it, while azula burned it.

When parents have radically different parenting styles. The children tend to lean towards the one that already approve of them. So azula’s prodigious fire bending skill made her ozai’s favourite and due to that she continues that. Also she witnessed a broken family where power controlled them and it was implied that ozai abused ursa, show as perceptive as she is and her already in his good books realised it was best to stay. Also azula did have traits of a young that hinted her sociopathic tendencies, cruelty to animals, and being such a good liar that, zuko had to remind himself. So she naturally had the traits that ozai praised and due to that found ursa’s parenting extremely difficult to follow.

The show is to deep for my smooth brain to understand.

From what I remember of the show (it has been years) I think it was actually confirmed that Ursa dedicated way more time to Zuko than Azula (again it has been years, so I could be wrong) The Beach episode actually drives it home. When Azula speaks of her past and how she thinks than Ursa saw her as a monster, because she pulled away, you can actually hear the hurt in her voice. Azula being Azula of course covers this up by saying that "She was right of course, but it still hurt". So yeah I don't find it strange that Azula turned out the way she did, with her being groomed by Ozai and neglected by Ursa (unintended as it may have been on Ursa's part). Personally I think that Azula actually wanted Ursa's love the most, but because Ursa's focus the most she went after the one thing that Zuko wanted the most, the "love" of Ozai. This of course caused Ursa to pull back even more which in turn would have caused Azula to pull even more towards Ozai. As for her redemption, I don't think it is a bad idea, I mean her redemption doesn't mean she becomes best friends with Team Avatar (oh who am I kidding we all know that is where they will go with her). and that is a good thing. For those of you famlliar with D&D (the game NOT the former showrunners of GoT) I see Team Avatar as mostly Lawful Good at the end (Aang, Katara, Zuko and Suki) Toph and Sokka would be Chaotic Good. Ozai would be a very clear Chaotic Evil (same as Sozin) and he masks it as Lawful Evil (again same as Sozin). Azula funnily enough would actually be a Lawful Evil person simply because of how twisted and broke she became, because of he parents (mostly Ozai like 95%). Had Azula killed the Earth King and his bear (which she could have down) she would have been a Chaotic Evil. Think about it, Azula took Ba Sing Se in a way so unlike either Ozai or Sozin would have done. Heck I don't even know if Ozai realized that Azula spared? the Earth King.

I don't want Azula to get a redemption, but I want her to heal. She doesn't need to apologize or be sorry or fix her relationship with her family. She just needs to realize she has devoted her entire life to other people and go live for herself for once, find out who she really is outside of the royal family and find what makes her happy (and hopefully it won't be something evil)

There is also the broken home argument. Children in broken homes and in divorces either externalize their anger (Zuko -> I am angry that I am angry) or internalize their anger (Azula)

No joke, I was watching one of your old videos when you posted this one! Right away clicked on this one. Your videos are always so great. Greetings from Finland ^^

I always loved every second with Azula on screen. She prolly is my favorite character in ATLA, tho Toph would have a word to say about that. They're both just so arrogant and cocky and I really love such character traits. Her Ba Sin Se speech, when she tells the leader of the Dai Lee that she can see in his eyes how he has struggled through his live and fought to be where he is, but some people are just born to rule was honestly an amazing take to completely dismantle a character we previously thought pretty well put together.

The best analysis I've seen on Azula. Amazing video!

I think Zuko is the one who would need to be instrumental in Azulas redemption.. she has absolutely no one else. Lots of forgiveness and healing needs to happen, but I’m so for it. I want the best for Azula.. she’s one of a kind.

Azula was so used to praise from her other parental figures that she absolutely breaks when it's the exact opposite from the one person whose opinion matters the most. And azula agrees because she never properly reconciled. She's got a specific set of skills from following her father and idolizing him. She thought she couldn't be loved, only praised for her merits. In her mind, *no one* loved her.

This is *SUCH* a good look for you! At more than one occasion I lost track of what you were saying and was just swooning with a big dumb smile on my face 😅

Oh man that interpretation of why she stopped fighting really hurt. I never thought about that

You know the 2nd I get a notification for a merphy avatar video I'm pressing straight away let's freaking go!!!

Azula did have such a warped and aggressive approach to life thanks to her father.

This is just very good analysis, appreciate diving into Ursula's and Iroh's roles as well. Most always bring up the mom, but i think you being one gives a new take on her effect and how she feels. And ppl don't bring up Iroh's potential role,if a lot more indirect of course. Makes sense given the little interaction between the 2 in her childhood. Also you gave me a knew lens on Mai's "i love Zuko more than i fear you" line.

Great analysis. She really was a tragedy. I always break when I see her final scene 💔.

Azula is as a monster cause she was raised like one

Finally...my favorite character is being talked about 😢😈

She’s the best kind to of antagonist! The character work in this series is so so so good.

"There had to be another way!" No. There really didn't HAVE to be another way. Sometimes life leaves you with very stark do or die choices.

19:13 - I really liked this part in the video, honestly never thought about it this way. Really enjoyed this video :)

My favorite AtlA character. She is such a wonderful villain, with so many layers to the way she is when we meet her for the first time.

For all the reasons you just listed and more, Azula is my all time favorite character. The only other character that I hold in as high of esteem is Nynaeve.

Finally convinced to watch Avatar. Growing up I used to see some episodes of it on TV and did not feel the need to watch them all in chronological order, I even saw bits of Kora too but i can never say that I've watched the full shows

I agree with you in that I'm not super thrilled about giving her a redemption arc. She is an incredibly tragic character

I think something that goes understated is that for all her preparation and cunning, Azula actually loses a lot. She failed to capture Zuko and Iroh, but that was mainly the fault of the officer who gave the plan away. She loses in The Chase and the show even pokes fun at how silly it is that she got away there. She loses again in The Drill and I guess Team Avatar just like...let her leave? Thinking about it now, that escape is actually worse than The Chase. And finally, prior to Zuko's intervention in the season 2 finale, Katara had her on the ropes.

Ursa left because she promised to kill the Fire Lord (Ozai's dad) in place of Zuko & furthering Ozai's plan to resume the throne. Making herself an enemy of the nation so it was either flee or go to jail & probably put to death.

Honestly an Azula redemption arc would be more about healing than switching alignments I still think a redeemed Azula has more of an antihero edge then straight good guy. As you said Azula is a broken child so I think she’ll the get the Damien Wayne treatment. Cold calculating and spoiled child learning to have a broader perspective than war and a mission.

A redemption is fine imo. Especially if it goes the same way it went for Zuko. It was a long journey for him.

My understanding of it is that Ursa actually poisoned the fire lord, Ozai’s father in order to try to save Zuko from the ultimatum. Then Ozai gets the power he wants and banishes ursa for the crime of murder.

I am a little concerned about the idea of giving Azula a redemption arc just because it seems that people in power, with privilege and wealth seem to be getting these second, third or fourth chances whilst other characters who are much further down the social ladder (I'm thinking of Jet here) don't get the same thought or treatment. I don't think this was ever the creators intention but if this is how they move forward with the story then it is creating this uncomfortable pattern. Great analysis video by the way!

Murphy’s right. God desires that all should be saved, but not all will be. That’s a very important reality to accept, even as we are trying our best to accept redemption, or to bring others to accepting redemption.

i honestly think she’s better written than zuko imho. like she’s soooo complex

Iroh didn’t change until his son died. His son’s death was what caused Ozai’s play for the throne and Zuko being saved by his mother.

Ironic how the start of Azula’s downfall wasn’t in the obvious betrayal of Mai and Ty Lee, but as soon as she set up Zuko by lying to Ozai about who slayed the Avatar. Azula’s full circle moment happened offscreen after Zuko confronted Ozai during the eclipse. We get blindsided by the fact that Zuko, our precious boy, has consciously initiated his redemption arc. What’s left unsaid was what does Ozai think about Azula withholding information from him. We were introduced to Azula at the end of Book One with Ozai telling her “Your uncle Iroh is a traitor and your brother Zuko is a failure, I have a task for you.” When Zuko confronted Ozai, Azula became a traitor to Ozai, she became a failure for not capturing Zuko (when he deserved to be captured for failing to get the Avatar out of the equation) and for letting the Avatar roam free to lead an invasion. Those are the only reasons why Ozai doesn’t want her to accompany him during Sozin’s Comet.

Such a great analysis!

Ursa made a Deal with Orsay so Suko could survive. There is nothing that she could have done against the will of the fire lord. It’s not just any abusive husband

The judgment that she should have tried to take Zuko with her shows a misunderstanding both of abusive relationships and of the nature of a warring dictatorship and the extent of the power that exists in such systems and in those times. The idea that she could have taken Azula is laughable. If she had even attempted it, both Zuko and Ursa would have been dead that day. That would have been the perfect way for Azula to guarantee her position as Firelord.

The reason Ursa left is explained further in the comic "The Search". When Lu Ten died, Ozai asked their father, Azulon, to have Iroh's birthright revoked and to make Ozai heir to the throne instead. Azulon denied him and, as a punishment for asking him, ordered him to kill Zuko. Ursa found this out from Azula who overheard and she confronted Ozai. Ozai was going to kill Zuko without a second thought. Ursa convinced him to let Zuko live and in return she would poison Azulon so Ozai could take the throne. He agreed, but also banished her. There was no way for her to sneak the kids out. The fire nation is an island. There was nowhere they could go that Ozai wouldnt find out and kill them. Also Azula's would never go with them and she would tell on them.

I feel like Iroh stepped in when he show the horrific treatment Ozai gave Zuko, I mean, yes Azula was also treated bad but...she was not the one banished with a disfigured 50% face, so of course, Zuko needed someone at that time of need.

Azula didn't see herself as a bad guy. She has been fed the same Fire Nation propaganda that Zuko was spouting before he fully understood the effects. Her father reinforces that every end justified the means. She believes fully the Fire Nation is the best.

5:40 The Scene that makes me believe that Ursa showed love to Zuko way more than Azula is the Fire bending demonstration, Where she praises Zuko but says Nothing to Azula.

I thought the Agni Kai had sad music because it shows that these two siblings were forced against each other rather than what they could’ve been.

Her arc should be about finally understanding if the loving family is for her or a life of a villain