My personal theory is that Ozai, not wanting another "weak" child like Zuko, threatened Ursa into staying away from Azula so that he could raise her the way he wanted to, unless Ursa wanted to lose her daughter... forever (hint, hint).

Ursa's impact on Zuko, Azula and the story as a whole is crazy considering she's only present in a few flashbacks

Also, Azula was just a kid. She is 14 by the time of the last agni kai. Ursa isn't perfect. But she was the adult that should SEEN that Azula needed support. In the end, Zuko had Ursa, Iroh, Mai and the Gaang. Azula had herself. She tried to have her father and Ozai is Ozai (like even Iroh thought she was a monster) I still think at least Iroh and Ursa owe Azula an apologie.

I think when your child thinks that her mother thinks of her as a monster something went wrong in your parenting. She needed guidance and understanding from her mother. Ursa treated them both differently. I can understand where she is coming from being abused by their father. She might develop mental issues herself. Even resentment towards her child who reminds her of her tyrannical husband. But that's her child who needs a mother who understands her and loves her and guides her. I might be projecting lol

I see Azula’s and Ursa’s relationship as a parent scolding a child, for doing bad things. And that’s what all mothers should do. Ursa was simply trying her best to be a real mother to both her children. But in this case, Ozai’s negative influence on Azula had already taken its toll. Therefore, Ursa had trouble showing the motherly affection to Azula, that she gave to Zuko. But in the end, despite Azula’s behavior, Ursa still loves them. She even wanted to take both Zuko and Azula with her, when she was banished.

Ursa is a flawed parent not a terrible parent. She did regret on not being there for Azula but she truly did love her. Ursa didn’t have a favorites that was Ozai.

I actually think azula had it harder than zuko. She never really had anyone in her life other than her friends. Zuko at least had his mother and uncle. I feel like if azula had more positive influences she could have been good too as she is also avatar Rokus grandchild

I like how Ursa's theater side shows up in the shows. Like how Zuko mentions "Love Amongst The Dragons" and such. It's a nice touch to show he still fondly remembers that part of his childhood among all the trauma from Ozai.

I think it’s really easy for people to focus on how Zhukov was effected by their mom, so I’m happy that this video shined some light on Azusa’s relationship with their mother as well, especially since it integrated some stuff from the comics a bit too.

2:18i read that "zuko" can mean "failure" or "loved one" I guess the creators chose this name on purpose

Someone could literally make a whole movie or something similar about their family issues..i swear it’s so much stuff

Just want to add that Azula can reconcile with her mother. Her story past the comics is not known leading up to Korra, and in Korra era Zukos family is least known about. A lot can happen during this time. Comics only extend 3 years past ATLA so there is a lot of uncovered time leading into Korra.

Great video! It's interesting to think about Ursa as a person instead of just the figure we saw her to be, if that makes sense. She was just as complex as any other character in the show, even though we only saw her in a few flashback scenes, and her impact on the characters she came into contact with is tangible

great video!

As much as her bad experiences, she's one of the few villains that I don't want a redemption arc. She really is a good villain in ATLA. Manipulative, cunning, calculated, the only time she had a hard time fighting is at the final Agni Kai and her 1v1 with Katara where she's on the verge of losing if Zuko doesn't intervene.

People saying that Ursa *loved both of her children* and didn't favor Zuko... Well, she indeed loved both her children, BUT she absolutely *favored Zuko.* Zuko took after his mother in the terms of personality: he was kind, loving and merciful like her, which obviously made it easier for Ursa to bond with Zuko. Azula, on the other hand, was pretty much like her father, personality-wise. Naturally, it was much harder for Ursa to reach out to Azula. In addition, Ursa said that she truly wished Zuko was Ikem's son (her childhood love and former fiance), not Ozai's. So with Zuko, Ursa could act like she actually had Ikem's child and pretend she's living her dream life. But with Azula, she couldn't do that. Azula was a constant reminder of her current life with Ozai. In conclusion, yes, Ursa did favor Zuko and that's okay. She was also a victim of abuse. And even though her treatment of Azula wasn't the best, it was far from being the worst. She still loved her children at the end.

1:10 it’s interesting, Ursa is a name of a bear constellation, if you know how a mama bear is when her babies are threatened.

Ursa is a Boy Mom. It's all about her son, and though they love their daughters, the heart is with their sons. She's just a Boy Mom.

8:28 is not a bad mother? She chose to forget about her children to live a happy life with a man. Don't come with a lame excuse that "it was because Ozai". Because she could have gone to the Earth Kingdom as a refugee. But she didn't.

I don't think Azula was justified saying Ursa thought of her as a monster. In reality, Ursa thought of her as an ill-behaved twisted child that needed help. But the problem is that Azula is a sociopath and helping her would require her to be put in an institution, which Ozai would never approve of.