Iroh's Connection To The Spirit World In Avatar: The Last Airbender Explained (2024)

General Iroh had a far stronger connection to the spirit world than most of the other characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the series leaves many of the details around this unclear. The physical world and the spirit world often overlap and influence one another in the show, with the Avatar often stepping in to restore the balance between them. Most of the characters have stopped taking the spirits seriously in the century since the Avatar’s disappearance, but Iroh remains extremely devout.

Though he doesn’t have the power to influence the spirits the same way the Avatar does, Iroh is so in tune with them that it sets him apart from his peers. General Zhao’s mistreatment of the moon spirit causes Iroh to show real anger for the first time in the series, leading him to turn on the Fire Nation in order to help Yue save the moon spirit. Iroh continuously proves his devotion to the spirits in many different ways throughout the show, including his history with learning the secrets of firebending from the ancient Ran and Shaw, the original firebenders.

Uncle Iroh Can See Spirits In The Physical World Of Avatar: The Last Airbender

In season 1, episode 7, "Winter Solstice, Part 1: The Spirit World,” Aang accidentally finds himself in the spirit world and ends up in contact with Avatar Roku. As the two ride through the spirit world on Roku’s dragon, Iroh clearly notices them in the physical world. Spirits can be visible if they cross into the physical world, but no character beyond Iroh is shown to perceive them while they’re still in the spirit world. It’s unclear whether Iroh fully recognizes the spirits as the current and previous Avatars, but he certainly acknowledges their presence. He doesn't seem surprised at the sight, implying that he's seen the spirits overlapping worlds before.

As exemplified early on in the show, Iroh is a very spiritually conscious character in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but that alone doesn’t fully explain his ability to see spirits. One theory surrounding the origins of this ability suggests that Iroh achieved enlightenment among the spirits when he journeyed there sometime before the series’ beginning. Whatever happened there must have been fortuitous, as Iroh lived the remainder of his life as a friend of the spirits.

Uncle Iroh May Have Looked For His Son In The Spirit World

After his legendary siege of Ba Sing Se, Iroh was grief-stricken by the death of his son Lu Ten. Avatar: The Last Airbender never fully details Lu Ten’s death, but it impacted Iroh deeply enough for him to abandon his siege and lose his birthright as the next Fire Lord. According to Avatar Extras, which were fun facts and commentary that would pop up on the screen while the show aired on Nickelodeon, there was a rumor that Iroh’s journey into the spirit world was an attempt to find Lu Ten. This may have been true since Iroh seems completely at peace with everything following Lu Ten’s death.

Iroh’s natural perceptiveness to the spirit world combined with his experience physically entering the spirit world seems to have given him a special sensitivity that few others have. In fact, The Legend Of Korra's focus on the spirit world reveals that Iroh was given the special honor of electing to stay in the spirit world after his death, despite it being a terrifying place for most people to be. Iroh’s spiritual connections in Avatar: The Last Airbender are ultimately a result of his efforts to be respectful to and in tune with the surrounding spirits.