It’s also worth pointing out about Iroh’s past that he literally was crown prince. He’s the elder brother. Ozai killed their father and stole Iroh’s crown.
And that’s worth adding here in the context of Iroh’s redemption because not once - at least that we’re aware of - did Iroh go about his redemption by trying to kill his brother and take back the crown. Surely he could have tried if he felt that was the way to go, and surely if he succeeded he could have put a stop to the war.
Obviously after losing his son, Iroh wasn’t in a great place, and possibly his emotional state is part of why he didn’t seek the crown. Possibly he knew he couldn’t win. Possibly, having no heir of his own, and loving his nephew, he instead set his sights on helping raise Zuko to succeed Ozai and put an end to the war that way, aiming to help behind the scenes to slow the war machine and change things rather than continue the tradition of regicide.
In terms of his unseen redemption are - we also get the impression he travelled after his son’s death, since at some point he made all these White Lotus connections and saw the world from a different lens, and while much of his study of other bending styles and the spirit realm and more could have been as the crown prince and general, it seems unlikely the White Lotus would have accepted him into membership while he was part of the war machine and actively contributing to it.
And it’s amazing to me how Iroh and Zuko have all of these parallels that are unspoken. Crown princes who lose their crown status to a younger, ruthless sibling. Disgraced former crown princes who travel the world and connect with a group of people that helps change their outlook on the war and the fire nation and atrocities they have been party to.
And the narrative circle of Iroh’s loss of his crown is completed by Zuko regaining his. Iroh might not have had the capacity to end the war as ruler of the fire nation. Too much opposers, too much machinery in motion, too many who would have him assassinated if he declared an end to the violence. Too abrupt, and him gone too long to forge the necessary political connections, with no heir and not enough clout.
But Zuko? Coming in on a wave of fire nation defeats to say he’s leading his country toward a brighter future. Coming in on the heels of Ozai’s defeat and Azula’s breakdown to represent a change that is suddenly welcome. With the Avatar at his side and the crown on his head and Iroh as his advisor - not to mention a better understanding of and relationship with the other kingdoms of the world, poised to actually negotiate an end to war and a return to diplomacy.
It’s a complete 180 of the position Iroh would have been in had he tried to take back the throne from Ozai, and it means that the completion of his own (implied) arc is in many ways tied not just to his rejection of the fire nation and decisions to join the White Lotus and conspire to end the war - but also to Zuko’s coronation as king.
Little Soldier Boy
Taken from home
Forced to fight a war
That’s not his own
Zuko is also that little soldier boy, forced out of home, thrust as a child into a war, and Iroh has made damn sure that this particular child is going to make it home.
