I think Mai’s words are really telling. “I love Zuko more than I fear you.” These guys were friends for years, but this was clearly a friendship based on fear. Given how we see how Azula treats them throughout the series, it was possibly even toxic. And later we see Azula simply didn’t KNOW how to treat people any other way. She’s a truly tragic figure on a deeper level than what we see, but also seeing Mai and Ty Lee finally break away from her is triumphant af.