Avatar: The Last Airbender may be over, but that won't stop fans from talking about the series. There's still plenty for the audience to learn, and even more that fans should already know. There are facts that any fan should know about the main characters, of course. But there are plenty of secondary characters that can be too easily overlooked as well.
Ty Lee is one of those characters. She stands out from her Fire Nation peers, even in her small group of three, and with good reason, so it's a shame some fans overlook the character. With no further ado, here are facts about Ty Lee that all fans should know about the character.
Updated on September 22, 2020 By Amanda Bruce: Ten tidbits of information about Ty Lee just isn't enough. Though she's seen as Azula's sidekick for much of her time in the animated series, there is more to her than propping up the Fire Nation princess, and her time with the franchise continues after Azula has been incarcerated. Now, this list has even more information about Ty Lee beyond her time by the princess' side.
Only Appeared In 11 Episodes
Since Ty Lee had such a big personality, it's easy to remember her as present during most of the run of the original Avatar series. The truth, however, is that she didn't make her first appearance until the third episode of "Book Two," and she only appeared in 11 episodes after that.
In fact, Ty Lee didn't appear in the sequel series Legend Of Korra at all, and one of her 11 episodes didn't feature her character having any lines!
The Only Person Azula Ever Apologized To
It's a bit of a dubious honor, but it's just one sign of how important their friendship really was. Azula might have been catty and purposely embarrassed her friends to retain the dominant dynamic in their friendship, but she did care — to an extent.
Ty Lee received the only apology Azula ever made in the series in the "Book Three" episode "The Beach," after Azula makes her feel badly about her attention seeking behavior.
One Of Seven
This may come as no surprise, but Ty Lee is one of seven daughters – all of whom look shockingly alike. It explains a lot about her personality, doesn't it? Ty Lee's sisters even have similar names to hers; Ty Lin, Ty Lat, Ty Lao, Ty Liu, Ty Lum, and Ty Woo.
Her large family also speaks strongly to her family status; both that they had so many, and that all seven were so well cared for. We're sure that these girls were a point of pride for the parents. Though we do hope they weren't aiming for a boy to round out the set...
Time In The Circus
This will be evident to anybody that has seen the way Ty Lee moves – but our girl had spent some time in the circus. Not because she had to (as mentioned above, her family was fairly well off) but because she wanted to.
Ty Lee actually ran off to join the circus, and no one can blame her. Running off was likely the only chance she would ever have at getting what she wanted. And even then, Azula ended up pulling her back into her schemes regardless. Poor Ty Lee.
Chi Blocking
One of the most feared attacks from Ty Lee came in the form of her ability to block chi – thus preventing a person from bending or even moving. Ty Lee knows specific moves that can paralyze a person (though thankfully, this is only temporary) and it's something she showed off at more than one point during the series.
She became a major threat in her own right, even though she was clearly unwilling to try to take the lives of any of her opponents. This was likely one of the reasons Azula wanted her back (the chi blocking, not the unwillingness to commit murder).
Kyoshi Warrior
When Ty Lee resisted the will of Azula, she found herself hanging out in a Fire Nation prison alongside the Kyoshi warriors. Eventually, she became friends with this fierce group of ladies, and later even became a member of their team.
It was a match made in heaven. Think about it, the Kyoshi warrior moves combined with the skill sets Ty Lee had already shown. What could possibly be better? Except perhaps the Kyoshi warriors being trained by Ty Lee...
First Outsider As A Kyoshi Warrior
Something important for the audience to recognize about the Kyoshi warriors is that they don't take on members from outside of their community. All of the women who fill their ranks are from Kyoshi Island and wear garb to honor Avatar Kyoshi, their founder.
The first outsider to, technically, be made a member was Sokka. Since their ranks are all female, however, his position was more honorary when Suki completed her training of him. The first true member from outside the island was Ty Lee.
Azula's Friend
The fact that Azula took the time to seek out Ty Lee says a lot about how much Ty Lee truly meant to Azula. In fact, there's a very good chance that in Azula's mind, Ty Lee was the closest thing she ever had to a true friend. Her greeting with the girl was one of true emotion, something not even shown with Mai. It proves that somewhere in there, Azula did have a heart.
To be fair, it seems impossible to meet Ty Lee and not like her, so it makes complete sense that Azula was so fond of the once circus member.
Falling For The Enemy
Ty Lee gets to add her name to the growing list of characters that had feelings for Sokka. Granted, with Ty Lee's open and flirtatious personality, she's probably the type to have crushes on many people she spends time with.
Ty Lee's feelings for Sokka don't end up going anywhere, which is probably for the best, given that she later joins the Kyoshi warriors, whose leader ends up with Sokka.
Unique Among The Fire Nation
Take a moment to look at all of the other characters from the Fire Nation. All of them either have gold eyes or black hair – or both. Ty Lee on the other hand, has neither. That makes her a truly standout character among the Fire Nation.
Though perhaps we should also assume that all of her sisters have similar traits, given that they look so alike. In which case her entire family really is an oddity for the Fire Nation. We wonder how that ended up happening.
Choosing A Side
When Mai betrayed Azula in order to save Zuko's life, Ty Lee was forced to pick a side. There's a chance that had her staying out of the fight not have resulted in a death, she might have just let things continue on. However, with Azula there's a good chance that the fight would have ended in death or imprisonment. Ty Lee had to make a choice in order to save her friends.
She picked Mai. Because of this, Ty Lee was sent to prison. And of course, it ended the friendship she had with Azula. This was a bigger loss for Azula than she was willing to let on, for reasons mentioned above. But it ended up being a good thing for Ty Lee in the long run.
Feeling The Need To Be An Individual
Remember that Ty Lee had six sisters to contend with? Having so many faces around that looked exactly like her left Ty Lee feeling more like a group entity, rather than an individual. Because of this, she began her quest to find herself and her individuality. It's also very likely the reason she ran off and joined the circus – it certainly is a unique thing to do. Since none of her sisters initially followed, it clearly worked to some extent.
A Friendship With Toph
Though the two didn't interact much since they were on opposite sides of the conflict for most of the animated series, Toph Beifong and Ty Lee did form an unlikely friendship after the events of the series.
In the comics that picked up where the show left off, Ty Lee found herself discontented with her time post-war. She and Toph went to a circus performance to remind the former of her old life. To her surprise, her sisters were doing an acrobatic act together, following in her footsteps. Toph then took her around to more exhibits so she wouldn't feel so out of sorts.
Saved By Her Sisters
When Toph and Ty Lee visited the circus, though the latter was initially hurt that her sisters stole "her thing," she ended up relieved that they had all decided to take up acrobatics. That's because her six family members saved her and Toph.
Toph overheard a pair planning to hurt people at the circus, so she convinced Ty Lee to help her take them down (it wouldn't have taken much convincing). While Toph took on the firebender of the two, Ty Lee tried to take on the other man, but her kicks had no effect on him, and her sisters wound up coming to her aid, helping her see that she had no reason to be jealous of them.
Guardian
Ty Lee becoming a Kyoshi warrior was something she stuck with. In fact, after Azula was arrested (following the end of the war), she needed a guard to keep an eye on – and protect – her. Ty Lee and Suki were tasked with the job.
It's an ironic turn of events, but it some ways it truly brought things full circle. Ty Lee felt like a prisoner in her life, and by the end, she became a guard instead. There's no doubt she was the most compassionate guard possible.