Admiral Zhao is one of the primary antagonists in Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1, and he faces a brutal end.
Admiral Zhao, played by actor Ken Leung, is initially a General at a southern Fire Nation port but when Prince Zuko approaches him for help, he spots an opportunity.
Upon learning that Zuko is searching for the Avatar, he tries to catch Aang himself. Despite failing, he decides to inform the Fire Lord and go against Zuko’s wishes.
Azula sees this as an opportunity to get rid of Zuko once and for all, so she puts her support behind Zhao in his endeavors.
He uses that support to undermine Zuko and even attempts to assassinate him while they are headed toward the Northern Water Tribe’s home.
Defying the spirits
Zhao planned to kill the Moon Spirit and remove water bending from the world, and he was successful in doing that.
However, Aang goes into the Avatar state and merges with the Ocean Spirit to devastate the Fire Nation invaders.
Zhao attempts to escape amid the chaos, but he faces off against Zuko. They fight and Zhao is beaten, but Zuko refuses to land the killing blow when Zhao speaks the harsh truth.
He reveals that Zuko was never going to be welcomed back into the Fire Nation and he was being used by Ozai to push Azula to her true potential.
As Zuko turns his back, disillusioned by what he just heard, Zhao attempts to kill him. Iroh has other ideas as he stops Zhao in his tracks and watches him burn to his death and fall into the ocean.
Extended canon
In the animated series, Zhao carries out the same plan but is dragged away by the angered Ocean Spirit along with the rest of the army.
He is presumed dead, and that is the case, although there is more to his story added later on.
In The Legend of Korra, Zhao is found in the Fog of Lost Souls, where he was sent by the Ocean Spirit to live out for eternity, driven to insanity by his pride.
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