






In Defense of Ursa: A Victim of Abuse and a Flawed Mother.
Ursa is one of the most overhated and misunderstood characters in the Avatar Universe, along with Mako, Mai, Katara, Korra, etc.
She gets hate for "abandoning" and forgetting her children, and being "neglectful" towards Azula.
She's not a perfect person, nor is she a perfect mom, but she isn't a bad or a malicious individual.
We need to understand that she had a happy life, being raised in a Fire Nation town of Hira's by two loving parents, and she had a childhood friend and later fiance whom she genuinely loves.
But everything changed when Fire Lord Azulon arrived at her home, telling her that she will marry his son, then Prince Ozai, due to her being a descendant of Avatar Roku, which would create a powerful lineage for the Fire Nation Royal Family.
She didn't have a choice in the matter.
What would happen to her if she refused the proposal?
And when seeing her fiance, Ikem, who was trying to prevent her from getting taken away, being attacked by guards, Ursa pleaded with Ozai to order his soldiers to stop interfering, which he did.
With tears falling from her eyes, Ursa tells Ikem that the decision cannot be undone as Ozai 's proposal had "brought honor to her family", that marrying Ozai was what she truly wanted, and told Ikem to go home.
She said and did this to protect Ikem and still loves him, despite being forcefully engaged to someone else.
And her marriage with Ozai wasn't healthy or wholesome in any way.
It's straight up controlling and domestic abuse!
And dare I say it, implied martial r***!
With Ozai forbidding Ursa from contacting her family and former fiance, forcing her to have children with him, prevented any of her letters that she wrote to her family being sent by either burning them or hiding them away.
Despite this, Ursa did her best to be a good parent to her children, guiding them and nurturing them.
Even though he gave more attention to her son Zuko, she also loves her daughter, Azula, despite Azula's psychopathic and sociopathic behavior.
When she found out that Ozai was going to kill Zuko, Ursa made a deal with him; the throne for Zuko's life with an untraceable and odorless poison for Ozai to use on his father.
Ozai accepted this offer on the condition that Ursa leaves the palace and never return.
Ursa wanted to bring her children with her, but Ozai didn't allow her to, stating that as long as she kept her end of the bargain, no harm would come to Zuko and Azula.
He also told Ursa that if she tried to stay or take the children with her, he will have the three of them hunted down and killed.
After giving Ozai the poison, Ursa went to the rooms of her children to say her goodbyes.
She kisses a sleeping Azula on the cheek, showing the genuinely loves her daughter.
And when she went to Zuko's room, she woke him up and told him that everything she had done was to keep him safe, that she loves him, and to always remember who he is, no matter how things change before leaving the palace.
When Ursa returned to Hira's, the village where she grew up in, she found out from a young girl that her parents passed away years prior, which devastated her.
After seeing Ikem, who now has a different face and a different name, he took her to the Forgetful Valley, where the Mother of Faces is.
Ursa had her memories erased and her face changed by the Mother of Faces because of the trauma of the abuse that she suffered for years by Ozai.
And years later, after getting her original face and memories restored, Ursa shows regret about choosing to forget her own children and not being the best mom for Zuko and Azula.