Why Did Ty Lee Join Azula?

Ty Lee is a proud, flamboyant character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, with her acrobatics and playful demeanor, as well as her unique fighting style. While Ty Lee is friendly, she could have stayed friendly with most everyone.

Instead, she chose to travel with Princess Azula, a psychopathic and sadistic firebender. Many fans have speculated about why a character worth emulating like Ty Lee would choose to travel with a character like Azula.

To unravel this discrepancy, we will look at Ty Lee's past, her relationship with Azula and consider her personal motivations.

Ty Lee’s Early Life and Personality

Ty Lee hails from a noble Fire Nation family and was born and raised alongside Azula and Mai. For Ty Lee, feeling like "one of many" stemmed from her having six identical sisters, which may have contributed to her drive to be unique. Ty Lee went to the circus to practice acrobatics and to be herself and be unique.

In her personality, Ty Lee is cheerful, kind, and easygoing. However, she also deals with insecurity. Ty Lee wants recognition, value, and someone to appreciate her for being herself. Her bubbly personality masks a more complex emotional sphere.

Who Is Azula and What Is She Like?

Azula is the daughter of Fire Lord Ozai and is recognized as one of the strongest firebenders throughout the series. She is extremely intelligent, manipulative, and enjoys utilizing fear as a means of controlling others. Azula embodies control, order, and total victory.

Although Azula has friends (Ty Lee and Mai) she treats them more like tools than as equals. Her power and ability to command loyalty make people want to follow her, even when it is out of fear.

Why Did Ty Lee Join Azula?

Ty Lee primarily followed Azula out of fear and pressure. However, Ty Lee had other motivations:

1. Azula Forced Her: When Azula visited Ty Lee at the circus, Ty Lee was independent and happy. But Azula gave her a very real choice — follow her or embarrassingly risk her life in the circus. Ty Lee had to realize she couldn't say no to Azula. Ty Lee left the circus and joined the mission.

2. Fear of Azula: Azula knew how to intimidate people into compliance. Ty Lee may have feared what Azula would do if she said no. While they were friends, Azula was someone you couldn't easily say "no" to.

3. Desire for Belonging: Even if there was a fair amount of fear involved, Ty Lee may have felt belonging. For someone who always wanted to be more special, being part of a mission with the princess may have felt purposeful and important.

4. Old Friendship: Ty Lee grew up know Azula and Mai. Although Azula was demanding and outspoken about her wants and needs, they had history. That share history may have made it more difficult for Ty Lee to completely walk away.

Ty Lee’s Skills and Role in the Team

Ty Lee is a very talented fighter, capable of an even rarer ability: the ability to block a person’s chi. In this case, block a bender’s ability to use their bending powers by hitting a couple of points on their body. With the acrobatics and flexibility she has, it's hard for Ty Lee to hard to catch, as well as pleasing when she's in battle.

Azula has seen the value in Ty Lee. Ty Lee's specialty has been helpful in the team many times for Azula, especially during missions when they captured Aang and other missions against enemy forces of the Fire Nation. Ty Lee tempered Azula's sharpness, as well as added light-hearted energy with her intense personality.