Avatar: The Last Airbender has a strong emotional core and excellent character arcs thanks to the vivid interpersonal relationships seen throughout the anime. Some of the most meaningful bonds are legendary, such as Zuko’s redemption with his uncle Iroh’s help, along with the budding romance between Aang and Katara. Unfortunately, Avatar didn’t have enough time to flesh out all the on-screen relationships in that much detail.

While the Dark Horse comics helped expand on some of these secondary relationships, fans of the original Avatar anime would rather have seen those developments in the episodes, not in the sequel comics. That includes personal bonds between heroes, villains, and even animals, all of which had the potential to be much deeper or at least have more screen time to be satisfying for fans. Ten of the most promising relationships are the ones that definitely deserve more substantial arcs by the time Book Three: Fire concludes.

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Ty Lee and Azula Had an Odd But Rich Friendship in Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ty Lee First Appeared in Book 2, Episode 3; Azula First Appeared in Book 1, Episode 20

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In Book Two: Earth, princess Azula formed the “small, elite team” she wanted, but the members were mostly just seen fighting together until the squad broke up at the Boiling Rock prison. Azula didn’t get quite enough time for her friendship with Ty Lee, aside from their first on-screen meeting and their time with Mai and Zuko on Ember Island’s beach.

Azula and Ty Lee needed one or two more scenes to round out this relationship, such as what Ty Lee thought of Azula after the latter snapped and got captured. That was Ty Lee’s chance to show Azula and Avatar fans what they really think of Azula without fear of reprisal for saying something negative.

14

Ty Lee and Mai Are Excellent Foils For One Another in Avatar: The Last Airbender

Mai First Appeared in Book 2, Episode 3

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Ty Lee and Mai were comedic foils as friends and fellow members of Azula’s squad, but their relationship wasn’t explored much beyond them teasing each other. Even when they both opened up on Ember Island’s nighttime beach, they had Zuko and Azula around, so fans will never know what it looks like when Mai and Ty Lee open up to each other in private.

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How Mai and Ty Lee became friends despite their clashing personalities isn’t entirely clear, but a few more lines of dialogue or a short flashback scene could have explained it all. Avatar‘s anime series also needed to show more of the Mai/Ty Lee friendship once Azula was out of the picture, and not save that exclusively for the Dark Horse comics.

12

Teo and the Mechanist Needed More Father/Son Time in Avatar: The Last Airbender

Teo and his Father First Appeared in Book 1, Episode 17

Few father/son duos appeared in Avatar: The Last Airbender, such as Sokka living up to his father’s example and Zuko struggling with his abusive Fire Lord father, but then there’s the matter of Teo and the Mechanist. The anime needed to do more than explain the basic fact that Teo and the Mechanist are fellow refugees who moved to the Northern Air Temple.

Since most of Teo’s and the Mechanist’s interactions were based on the plot, it’s difficult to see how the father and son interact as themselves, which is a shame. Avatar has only a few good fathers in it, such as Hakoda and Iroh, and the Mechanist misses his chance to become a third positive father figure. Instead, the Mechanist was defined more by his and Teo’s courageous work to support the Fire Nation invasion.

11

Aang and Iroh Were Alike in Many Ways

Aang and Uncle Iroh First Appeared in Book 1, Episode 1

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Uncle Iroh was a pseudo-Avatar. He blended the philosophies of the four elements, and his desire to unite and guide people through wisdom. That was one reason Iroh and Aang got along as last-minute allies during the climax of Book Two, with them journeying to Ba Sing Se to rescue Katara and Zuko, and Iroh even shared heartfelt wisdom with Aang.

Best of all, Iroh supported Aang, admiring Aang’s decision to favor love over celestial power, which was a major hint at how much the two of them thought alike. The plot forced them apart after that, but if Aang and Iroh shared more scenes, they would realize just how much they have in common and get along as co-Avatars of sorts.

9

Toph and Appa Only Shared One Scene in the Desert

Appa First Appeared in Book 1, Episode 1; Toph First Appeared in Book 2, Episode 6

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The animals in Avatar aren’t just mascots or creatures — they are proper characters with personalities and their own arcs — most of all, Appa the sky bison. The Avatar anime clearly established Aang’s and Appa’s strong bond, but the same wasn’t true for Toph and Appa. That was a missed opportunity to see how an air-based character and an earth-based one could get along despite being elemental opposites.

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Only a few scenes showed Toph’s discomfort riding aboard Appa, since she isn’t used to flying and can’t see in the sky, and Aang even once accused Toph of disliking Appa entirely. That was absolutely not true, and given a few more chances, Toph could have proved it, appreciating the huge, flying Appa as a friend and not just some beast.

7

Ursa and Ozai Were Separated by Court Intrigue

Ursa First Appeared in Book 2, Episode 7; Ozai First Appeared in Book 1, Episode 12

The members of Zuko’s royal family tree rarely got along, least of all the parents involved, Fire Lord Ozai and Ursa. Fans know from the comics how uneasy Ursa felt around her royal husband, but the Avatar anime didn’t explore this relationship at all, which helped weaken the impact of Ursa’s backstory somewhat. Instead, Ursa’s flashbacks mostly focused on her dynamic with Zuko, her beloved son.

Ursa’s and Ozai’s strained relationship was both built by and ruined by court intrigue, such as Fire Lord Azulon pairing Roku’s granddaughter with Sozin’s grandson, but there is more to it. Ursa is a kind, nurturing person who never meant to be a part of the royal family, and it was no place for her. No relationship makes the tension clearer than Ursa’s link to Ozai, so, of course, the Avatar anime should have examined it in greater detail.

6

Ursa and Azula Didn’t Get Along as Mother and Daughter

Ursa and Azula First Appeared Together in Book 2, Episode 7

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It’s true Azula and her mother sometimes appeared together in the Avatar series, but there wasn’t quite enough substance to it. Those scenes mainly focused on Ursa feeling disturbed at her daughter’s thought process, while Azula clearly didn’t take her mother that seriously. The only exception was when a vision of Ursa restated her love for her second child.

Just the way Ursa spent time alone with Zuko in some flashback sequences, the anime also needed to show Ursa having time alone with Azula to explore the full mother/daughter bond with no other characters to pull the scene in other directions. That would give Ursa and Azula a chance to lay out all their baggage and play off each other in more meaningful ways.

4

Azula and Iroh Never Got Along But Were Still Family

Azula and Uncle Iroh First Interact Together in Book 2, Episode 1

Princess Azula seemed content to live in a bubble with her father, keeping everyone else at arm’s length most times. Iroh wasn’t just Zuko’s uncle; he was also Azula’s uncle, but Azula rarely acknowledged that fact. Instead, Azula held her uncle in low regard and saw him as more of a failure and traitor than a family member, viewing him mainly as a disgraced general.

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Iroh and Azula never appeared in any scenes alone together, because there was always someone else involved, usually Zuko himself. If they did, then Iroh and Azula would have a proper arc as uncle and niece, which would reveal a lot about them even if Iroh couldn’t redeem Azula the way he redeemed Zuko.

3

Iroh and Lu-Ten Got One Brief Flashback Together

Lu-Ten is First Referenced in Book 2, Episode 7

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Since Lu-Ten was already deceased by the time the main events of Avatar: The Last Airbender began, Lu-Ten didn’t get many chances to appear. He showed up in a brief flashback as a child, and that, combined with some dialogue, made it clear father and son were close. However, those were just basic facts about the father/son bond, not a deep exploration of what they were like together.

In a flashback or dream sequence of Iroh’s, the Avatar series could have shown Iroh speaking with his young adult son as fellow officers in the Fire Nation army. That would expand on their bond a great deal while also showing their dual nature, with Iroh and Lu-Ten both being officers fighting Ba Sing Se’s defenders while also being genuinely good people.

1

Sokka and the Mechanist Were a Brilliant Duo Together

Sokka First Appeared in Book 1, Episode 1

Only in two major events did Sokka the inventor share screen time with the equally gifted Mechanist, with the two of them inventing functioning hot air balloons and submarines, the latter powered by waterbending. Those were fun scenes, but it was only surface-level storytelling, since Sokka and the Mechanist only worked together as lab partners and little more.

Sokka sympathized with the Mechanist as someone who lost many things in the Hundred-Year War, but the anime had no time to go into greater detail. Doing so could have given Sokka a chance to process his grief with a sympathetic ear while also fleshing out the Mechanist’s own backstory.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Release Date

2005 – 2007

Showrunner

Michael Dante DiMartino

Directors

Dave Filoni

Writers

Michael Dante DiMartino