General Iroh, also called Prince Iroh or Uncle Iroh, (a.k.a The Dragon of the West)is a Firebending master, former Crown Prince and heir to the Fire Nation throne, retired General of the Fire Nation, and older brother of Fire Lord Ozai. Iroh accompanied his exiled nephew Zuko on his quest to capture Aang, the long-lost Avatar, in order to restore the young prince's honor and rights to the throne.
Iroh was the firstborn son of Fire Lord Azulon and Fire Lady Ilah. He was long said to have slain the last dragon, but Iroh lied in order to preserve the remaining two that he found. Iroh was destined to succeed Azulon as Fire Lord of the Fire Nation, but because of the mysterious events surrounding Azulon's death, and Iroh's abandonment of the siege on Ba Sing Se to grieve for his son, Lu Ten, Iroh's younger brother Ozai succeeded to the throne.
Three years before the start of the series, an indulgent Iroh allowed his beloved nephew to observe a meeting of Ozai's war council—a mistake he would soon come to regret. In the council, Zuko spoke out against a general who planned to sacrifice an entire division of novice troops in battle as a diversionary tactic. Though Iroh silently agreed with young Zuko's assessment, the Fire Lord demanded that Zuko participate in a fire duel, the Agni Kai, for his insubordination. Zuko accepted, under the mistaken impression he would be dueling the General he'd insulted. However, because Zuko had spoken out in his father's war room, Zuko had disrespected his father. Iroh bore witness in the audience when Zuko fell to his knees in the arena, pleading for forgiveness and refusing to duel his own father. When Iroh's brother badly burned his own son's face, permanently scarring him as punishment for his cowardice and disrespect, Iroh looked away, unable to stand the sight.
Zuko was afterward stripped of his birthright and exiled from the Fire Nation. However, one condition could restore his honor and throne and allow him to return home. Zuko was instructed to find and capture the Avatar. The Avatar was a perpetually reincarnated spirit of the planet manifested in human form, master of all four elements, and maintainer of balance between the Four Nations. This powerful being was the only threat to the Fire Nation's victory in its imperialist war against the other nations. Yet the Avatar had vanished a century ago—shortly before the Fire Nation's first strike. Three generations had conducted fruitless searches, and Zuko was to be sent on a quest that seemed little more than a fool's errand.
Book 1: Water
Undeterred, Zuko sought to do the impossible, and Iroh accompanied him. The pair spent two years at sea, searching in vain for any sign of the supercentenarian Airbender the Fire Sages had described. Though Iroh was resigned to the futility of their mission, and whittled away his days with games, finally a day came when a strange beacon lit the skies off the coast of the South Pole. When Zuko investigated, he discovered that the Avatar had reappeared at last. Improbably, the long-sought old man was actually Aang, a twelve-year-old boy recently woken from a hundred years of suspended animation. Thrown off-guard, Zuko underestimated the boy, who managed to escape their grasp. Zuko and Iroh quickly engaged in hot pursuit, tracking the Avatar and his friends across the globe. Upon reaching the North Pole, Iroh forsakes his hope of ever returning home when he attacks Admiral Zhao in an attempt to save the Spirit of the Moon, thus assisting the Avatar and the Northern Water Tribe in repelling the Fire Nation invasion.
Book 2: Earth
At the beginning of Season Two, Iroh and Zuko have been branded traitors to the Fire Nation. During a confrontation with Azula, they learn of a plot to capture them and return them home imprisoned. Having escaped from Azula's nearly victorious trap, Iroh and Zuko cut their hair to symbolize their new life as fugitives unable to return home. The two later took refuge in random Earth Kingdom towns acting as homeless beggars. While Iroh was able to adjust to a life of simplicity, humility, and poverty, Zuko was not, and Iroh soon suspected that Zuko had been obtaining items for their day-to-day life by theft. The older man attempted to persuade his nephew that those who maintain hope in the face of adversity are the ones with true strength. However, Zuko thought otherwise, and the two separated. They were soon reunited, as Iroh covertly followed Zuko to assist him if needed. When Zuko got in over his head in a three-way battle with Aang and Azula, Iroh intervened, as did Aang's companions. The six of them confronted Azula together, but she managed to wound Iroh with a fire blast to the chest, and escape.
After recovering from his injury, Iroh decided to teach Zuko the advanced Firebending techniques he would need to defeat Azula. He first tried to teach Zuko how to create lightning, but his nephew's emotional turmoil prevented him from making progress with the difficult art. Instead, Iroh taught Zuko a technique of his own creation—to absorb and redirect lightning, which he developed after studying Waterbenders. Zuko soon demanded that Iroh attack him with lightning so that he can redirect it, but Iroh refused to perform such a dangerous test.
Iroh is a grand master of the secret society, the Order of the White Lotus; although what the group represents or does has yet to be seen. The Order of the White Lotus has members spread far and wide across the world—even in desolate remote villages of the Earth Kingdom. Iroh and Zuko sought their aid in avoiding the bounty hunters Master Yu and Xin-Fu, who temporarily decided to seek the two fugitives from the Firebending nation rather than pursue the Avatar and Toph. Since the people who protected Iroh appeared to be of the Earth Kingdom, the organization of the group may itself be independent of any particular nation. Also, the White Lotus appears to have at least some degree of bureaucratic influence, as it managed, on short notice, to produce fake passports and other paperwork to smuggle Iroh and Zuko into Ba Sing Se.
With help from the Order of the White Lotus, Iroh and Zuko are able to make their way to Ba Sing Se as refugees. Once inside, Iroh gets them jobs at a tea shop. During the episode "The Tales of Ba Sing Se," Iroh spends a day shopping in the city. In this episode, Iroh is displayed as a teacher as he grants wisdom and help to all those he encounters during his day of shopping. He later holds a small memorial service for Lu Ten, marking his late son's birthday, and tearfully noting he wished he could have helped Lu Ten.
After weeks in Ba Sing Se, Iroh is given the chance to run his own tea shop, but Zuko has other plans. When Zuko attempts to capture Appa, Iroh confronts Zuko and tells him rather bluntly to stop trying to live the life people say he has to live. Iroh convinces Zuko to give up his alias as the Blue Spirit and takes care of his nephew when Zuko is stricken by the negative effects of the mental metamorphosis caused by Zuko's actions, after which he becomes more cheerful, becomes more optimistic towards a new life in Ba Sing Se. Iroh remains confident in Zuko and believes that Zuko will become the prince he was meant to be.
When Azula offered Zuko a chance to reclaim his honor by helping take over the Earth Kingdom capital, he agrees. Iroh was last seen defending the wounded Avatar and Katara, giving them time to escape before he peacefully allowed himself to be captured. Iroh makes eye contact with Zuko before turning away, expressing shame at his nephew's decision.
Book 3: Fire
In the episode "The Headband," Zuko secretly visits Iroh, who has been imprisoned in a tower. After threatening the guard to keep silent about the visit, Zuko attempts to talk to his uncle, only to have Iroh turn away from him and say nothing. Zuko later brings food to Iroh and asks for his help. He continues his silence, causing Zuko to become angry and storm from the room. A single tear then rolls down Iroh's face.
As displayed in "Sokka's Master," Iroh has been misleading the guards by acting senile and delusional, in order to make them believe that their once great commander has fallen from grace and is now nothing more than a crazy old man. In reality, however, he is just as wise and wily as ever, and has been secretly exercising in confinement. Through this intensive training, it is displayed that Iroh has become significantly more muscular in comparison to his former physique.
It is implied that Iroh had resources despite his confinement, as he managed to deliver a message to Zuko in "The Avatar and the Firelord." When his nephew confronts in regards to the purpose of the message, Iroh at last responds. Iroh informs Zuko that he is a descendant of Avatar Roku, and that he believes Zuko can be the one to right the sins their family has brought. To commemorate this, Iroh provides Zuko with the antique headpiece once worn by his forefather, as it is supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince, another example of how influential and how many contacts Iroh may have to fall into the possession of the missing headpiece lost in the times of Avatar Roku whilst being held in prison.. During the episode "Day of Black Sun," Iroh (off-screen) breaks himself out of prison and single-handedly defeats the prison guards. The defeated warden tells Zuko, who intended to free his uncle himself, that Iroh was like a "one-man army". Zuko left to join the Avatar afterwards, and presumably he assumes that Iroh is safe somewhere else.
