
What’s more, Zuko’s exile also sent away Iroh (the rightful Fire Lord) killing two birds with one stone, just as Ozai presumably intended all along. Whatever Zuko might have done, his punishment was never going to fit the crime. That's why Ozai faced his son during Agni Kai instead of the general Zuko disrespected. Nickelodeon The real reason for banishment?īut did the Fire Lord really banish his only son just for mouthing off to a general? Reddit user neilader argues that “the real reason Ozai banished Zuko was so that Azula could take his place as heir to the throne.”Īccording to the theory, Ozai had always planned to get rid of Zuko in one way or another so his evil and more powerful sister Azula could become Ozai's successor. (Unless he could capture the missing Avatar.) As punishment, Ozai permanently burned Zuko’s face, stripped him of his honor, and sent him away for good.

When Zuko refused to fight his father, Ozai was furious and perceived his son’s actions as disrespectful. After publicly speaking out against a general’s plans in a war meeting, Fire Lord Ozai challenged his son Zuko to Agni Kai, a traditional Fire Nation duel. In Season 1 of The Last Airbender, we learn Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation because of his insolence. An intriguing new theory explains that Ozai may have had another reason for sending Zuko away and it could explain a long-running mystery in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Prince Zuko was physically scarred by his own father, Fire Lord Ozai, and banished from the Fire Nation for showing weakness. They were ruthless towards the other three nations, and, in the case of the ruling Fire Nation family, terrible to each other.

Avatar: The Last Airbender held nothing back when portraying the Fire Nation's violence.
