Avatar: The Last Airbender — 10 Best Quotes From Iroh

Iroh Was An Incredible Father Figure To Zuko & An Invaluable Ally To Avatar Aang

7 min readOct 5, 2020

One of the most wholesome characters in both Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Legend of Korra, Iroh was beloved by viewers as an easygoing, funny, and spiritual character. His lovable personality and gentleness was a stark contrast to many other members of the Fire Nation, including members of his own family.

Also known as The Dragon of the West and a member of the secretive Order of the White Lotus, Iroh played a pivotal role in ending the 100-year war in ATLA, after leaving his former life as a famed Fire Nation General and former crown prince behind, helping to guide his outcasted nephew Zuko to fulfill his real destiny of restoring balance and peace alongside Avatar Aang. This is just ten out of the many wise and insightful thoughts from Iroh.

10. “It’s Time To Look Inward And Start Asking Yourself The Big Questions…Who Are You, And What Do You Want?”

Iroh Trying To Convince Zuko Of His Real Destiny

This quote is from Book Two, “Lake Laogai”. It’s one of the few times Iroh forgoes his gentle nature and gives Zuko some tough love. Oftentimes Iroh uses a lot of metaphors and poetic language when he speaks, but this quote is the exception — he’s giving it to him straight. He’s being more forceful with Zuko at this moment because due to years of conditioning and abuse at the hands of his father Ozai, Zuko still struggles to think for himself and beyond what was expected of him as a Fire Nation prince.

There are many great mentors in film and television throughout history, but the mentorship and bond between Iroh and Zuko are one of the most triumphant and powerful examples out there.

9. “Follow Your Passion And Life Will Reward You”

This is another one of Iroh’s more straightforward quotes, but an important one all the same. Iroh oftentimes follows this piece of advice, indulging himself with tea and games; he even opens a tea shop in Ba Sing Se and finds a lot of fulfillment this way.

Iroh’s tea shop appears in the ATLA comic book series, covering events that take place after the show. In one scene Iroh creates a strange new type of drink — bubble tea — and serves it to the Gaang.

8. “Many Things That Seem Threatening In The Dark Become Welcoming When We Shine Light On Them”

This quote is from The Legend of Korra season 2 episode 10. Iroh plays a significant role in this episode as he guides and comforts Korra while she is reverted to a child-like form in the spirit world and helps her become less afraid. Iroh has always been a very mystical and spiritual character; in ATLA it was said that he had traveled to the spirit world. This is proven when Iroh, who had been captured by Earth Kingdom soldiers in the material world, is able to see Roku’s dragon fly across the sky with Aang in the spirit world.

Spirits mingle more and more with humans in The Legend of Korra. As the Avatar, Korra struggles with spirituality at first, but when she gets a better handle on it, she takes being the bridge between the spirit world and the human world to the next level. Korra opens the spirit portals, allowing the spirit wilds to grow throughout Republic City and the rest of the world and ushering a new era of spirituality among human beings.

7. “Pride Is Not The Opposite Of Shame, But It’s Source…True Humility Is The Only Antidote To Shame”

Iroh Looking At An Illustration Of His Son

This is one of the many wise pieces of advice that Iroh gives Zuko in the hopes that he will unlearn some of the more harmful and damaging aspects of Fire Nation culture. At the beginning of the series, Zuko has a toxic relationship with both his family and his nation, and he values nothing besides restoring his honor and continuing the imperialistic 100-year war over the other three nations.

These extreme and nationalistic notions are not only shown by Zuko’s pride and blind loyalty — but they’re also on display when Aang goes undercover in a Fire Nation school.

6. “Even In The Material World, You Will Find That If You Look For The Light, You Can Often Find It…But If You Look For The Dark, That Is All You Will Ever See”

This is another quote from The Legend of Korra. Spirits appear as monsters to Korra because she is already expecting them to be scary and dangerous, but when she follows Iroh’s advice the spirits transform into friendlier and cuter creatures. Once she is at ease, Korra then joins Iroh and the spirits in a mad hatter style tea party.

This is an important quote that highlights the importance and power of positive thinking and choosing to look on the bright side of whatever situation life might throw at you.

5. “At My Age, There Is Only One Big Suprise Left, And I’d Just As Soon Leave It A Mystery”

Being such a transcendent character, it’s fitting that Iroh would spend the afterlife in the spirit world in The Legend of Korra after a comfortable life in retirement as a tea shop owner.

Iroh may have been an older man in ATLA, but his power and strength are undeniable. From his impressive bending techniques to his cunning, those who underestimate him are quick to regret it. While in prison, Iroh tricked the guards and secretly built up his strength until he was insanely muscular. He warned Ming, a sympathetic guard (voiced by Serena Williams), of his plans and broke out with ease the next day. He went on to join the other members of the Order of the White Lotus to help the Avatar beat Ozai.

4. “It’s Important To Draw Wisdom From Many Different Places… If We Take It From Only One Place It Becomes Rigid And Stale”

This is an important quote about open-mindedness that Iroh tells Zuko while teaching him a fire bending move that he created by watching water benders.

The move would allow Zuko to redirect lighting, using the Chi that flowed through his body to pass the lighting from his arm, into his stomach, and out through his other arm. As usual, Zuko would become frustrated and impatient during this lesson, but he would eventually use it successfully against his own father later on.

3. “Good Times Become Good Memories, But Bad Times Make Good Lessons”

Learning from your mistakes was a lesson that Iroh always tried to teach Zuko. Looking back on his life, up until losing his son to a war he actively perpetuated as a Fire Nation General, it’s imaginable that much of Iroh’s vast wisdom came from learning from his mistakes and waking up to the injustices within the Fire Nation.

It must have taken incredible strength for him to accept his mistakes and become the gentle and honorable character the viewer sees in ATLA. It’s no wonder Iroh was successful in helping his nephew break away from the conditioning of the Fire Nation since he had to have gone on a similar journey of self-discovery.

2. “Failure Is Only The Opportunity To Begin Again”

Seeing things in a different way was something that Iroh always encouraged Zuko to do. Rather than only seeing the negative aspects of failure, seeing failure as an opportunity to start over can make one change their mindset about their situation.

This was an especially important lesson to Zuko — once he finally was able to accept failure (or what he perceived as failure) he was able to start anew and fulfill his true destiny alongside Aang.

1. “In The Darkest Times, Hope Is Something You Give Yourself…That Is The Meaning Of Inner Strength”

This is a powerful line of dialogue from Iroh about never giving up. As a supporting character, Iroh is incredibly dynamic and always makes viewers laugh when things get too serious.

However, he provides so much more than just comic relief, we also learn about the hardships he faced and the battles he overcame throughout the show. Ultimately, these ten quotes showcase his depth, wisdom, and love for Zuko and for peace.

NEXT: Avatar: The Last Airbender: The 10 Most Inspiring Quotes From The Series

Originally published at https://screenrant.com on October 5, 2020.