Mufasa/Relationships

The relationships of Mufasa from The Lion King.
==Romance==
===Sarabi===
Mufasa and his mate, Sarabi, loved each other very much. Though it's implied they may have been paired under the tradition of betrothal given Zazu's explanation for Simba and Nala's pairing, Mufasa and Sarabi's romance is apparently genuine and mutual, likely given time to gradually become so. Together, they had a son, Simba, and did their best to groom him into the king he would be when he succeeded his father, though they did have minor bickering on who gave their son attention. When Mufasa was killed in the wildebeest stampede, Sarabi was heartbroken. Remaining loyal to her deceased mate, Sarabi boldly stated to his brother, Scar, that he was't half the great king Mufasa was. In the 2019 remake, Sarabi even went as far as saying that Scar is nothing compared to Mufasa, stating a true king's power was his compassion which Mufasa clearly possessed.
==Family==
===Scar===
As teenagers, Mufasa likely already had a strained relationship with his brother. While Mufasa was aware that his brother didn't like him, he still cared and looked after him. Scar harbored some jealousy towards his brother, but he at least still had a begrudging respect for Mufasa and carried out his responsibility as leader of the Lion Guard. However, Scar's jealousy towards his brother took a deadly turn after the venom that he got from a cobra bite intensified it to deep-seethed hatred.
As adults, their strained sibling relationship worsened. While he did still loved and cared about Scar, Mufasa was unsure of what to do about his bad attitude. Scar was frequently disrespectful towards Mufasa, which sometimes caused the latter to lose his patience with his younger brother. In the 2019 remake, despite Scar's animosity towards him (and the fact that in the remake states that Scar did indeed challenge him for the throne and Sarabi's affections at one point), Mufasa refused to banish Scar when Zazu suggested otherwise, believing that, as his brother, he still has the right to live in the Pride Lands. Mufasa failed to see Scar's treachery until it was too late, when Scar threw him to his death much to his horror (in the remake, he sliced him across the face). Scar's hatred for Mufasa is so deep that he even made it illegal for anyone to mention his name in his presence, particularly in terms of favoritism and comparison. Despite being killed by Scar, Mufasa doesn't seem to hold any grudge against his younger brother never getting mad whenever Scar is mentioned or wanting to get revenge on him; he only insisted Simba take his rightful place as king when appearing to his son as a spirit and also advised his grandson, Kion, not to worry about becoming like Scar.
===Simba===
Mufasa had a loving father-son relationship with his son. Simba spent much of his time with his father, who taught him how to be a good king, and Simba looked up to his father as his role model. Mufasa loved his son very much, and was extremely protective of him as a result, immediately coming to his rescue whenever he is in danger. When Mufasa was killed in the stampede, Simba was heartbroken, believing that it was his own fault. When Mufasa appeared again to Simba years later as a spirit, he encouraged him to return to the Pride Lands, telling him to remember who he is: Mufasa's son, the one true king. Even in death, Simba looks to his father for guidance and his actions are based from what he believes his father would do. Once Simba has a change of heart about the Outsiders, lions who were loyal to Scar, Mufasa was very pleased that his plan to reunite the two feuding prides together is successful and congratulates Simba for his decision.
=== Nala ===
Mufasa was not shown interacting with Nala prior to his death. However, as either his son's future consort or simply a young member of his pride, Mufasa was just as protective of her as he was Simba, saving both of them from the hyenas and scolding his son for endangering her along with himself. Nala had much respect for Mufasa and was saddened by his death. With the Pride Lands having fallen into disrepair in the aftermath of his death, in Scar's reign, and Simba's absence, Nala understood how Mufasa's wise rule was what kept the kingdom in balance, taking Simba's remark that her disappointment in him sounded similar to his father as compliment.
===Kiara===
Though he never got a chance to meet his granddaughter because of his death, Mufasa loves his granddaughter very much. Mufasa's spirit watches over and even plays with Kiara through the wind during her presentation. Seeing the connection she and Kovu, his brother's heir, had, he knew this would be the perfect way to reunite their feuding prides. Having been told of her late grandfather, Kiara holds profound respect for him and knew he would've been more merciful to someone in Kovu's position.
In "Return to the Pride Lands", he's shown to have a conversation with her along with the royal family.
===Kion===
Although Mufasa never met his grandson during his lifetime due to his death when Simba was only a cub, Mufasa loves Kion dearly. Kion held great respect towards Mufasa due to his father often telling him about his grandfather. Kion's respect for Mufasa grows after he's finally able to speak with his grandfather's spirit. Whenever he was in doubt, Kion almost always called upon the spirit of his grandfather for guidance. In return, Mufasa shows great confidence in his grandson, believing that he'll make a great leader of the new Lion Guard. He's always understanding with Kion, and never blamed him for anything, even when Scar returned.
Months later, in Season 3, Kion, now a teenager, defeats Scar, but Ushari bit him in his left eye, leaving him with a scar like his great-uncle's, forcing him to leave for a long journey to the Tree of Life to heal the poison in his body. However, he was unable to control the Roar of the Elders as he could before, and whenever his scar hurts him, he ended up getting angry, which made the journey more difficult and made him more insecure. It became so bad that ever since the journey started, he stopped talking to Mufasa for months because he was afraid to face him with his scar, especially since Scar was the one who murdered him long ago. Mufasa was saddened and worried about Kion not speaking to him since Scar's defeat, fearing that his grandson had forgotten him like a grieving Simba once had after his death. When Kion explains why he hadn't talked to him, Mufasa assured Kion that he can always confide to him, and that he will always love him, then he admitted that he missed him.
Mufasa later watched on proudly as Kion married Rani and became King of the Tree of Life.
===Rani===
Rani knew of Mufasa's legacy from her grandmother, Queen Janna, especially his tragic end. Mufasa appears in the sky and proudly watches as Rani and Kion are married. Mufasa now watches over both his grandson and newfound granddaughter-in-law as they rule the Tree of Life together as King and Queen.
==Friends==
===Zazu===
Mufasa had a very good friendship with his majordomo. He often turned to Zazu for advice and tasks him with reporting the kingdom's affairs to him or watching over his son, Simba. The duo often cracked jokes with each other, usually at Scar's expense. However, Mufasa wasn't above jokingly teasing Zazu, as seen when he uses him as the target for Simba's pouncing lesson. Zazu was saddened when his liege was killed. Under the rule of the unpopular Scar, the hornbill, demoted to being forced to sing for him, recalls how he never had to do such demeaning things for Mufasa.
===Rafiki===
Mufasa had a very close friendship with Rafiki. At his son's presentation, they embraced in a hug and the king entrusts his son in Rafiki's hands. Rafiki was devastated by his old friend's demise. But they collaborated together to get an astray Simba to go back and reclaim his birthright. Rafiki is shown to be able to speak with Mufasa on equal footing; greatly expressing his doubt in the late lion's idea by even stating his head was in the clouds, which was met with howling winds. Still, the mandrill goes through with Mufasa's ploy to get his granddaughter to fall in love for sake of the Pride Lands.
===Outsiders===
The Outsiders were originally subjects of Mufasa during his reign over the Pride Lands, however after his death, and the supposed death of his son Simba, they swore loyalty to his brother (and secret murderer) Scar. Unlike his son, Mufasa bears absolutely no hatred towards the Outsiders for their loyalty to his evil brother; instead he wishes for them to rejoin the pride and live side-by-side with the Pridelanders. Mufasa realizes that so long as the Outsiders and Pridelanders remain separate and continue to fight, the circle of life will forever be broken and so he wishes to end the hatred between the two prides so that prosperity could return to the Pride Lands. To do this, he planned on having his granddaughter Kiara and Kovu (Scar’s adopted son and heir) fall in love with each other. Mufasa knew that not only could their respected prides be united through their marriage but would also form the perfect compromise between them as well. This way Kiara would be the regnant queen and Kovu would be the consort king, thus fulfilling Scar’s wish somewhat. Even after the outsiders attempted to assassinate his son and declared war on him and the Pridelanders, Mufasa still bears no hatred for them. His spirit watched over his granddaughter and Kovu’s wedding and the reunification of the prides, happy that balance had returned to his former kingdom.
==Enemies==
===Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed===
The hyenas were one of Mufasa's greatest enemies. They would often trespass into the Pride Lands, and Mufasa had to drive them out. When the trio tried to kill Simba, Mufasa defended with great ferocity and threatened them should they ever try again. In spite of this, the hyenas do harbor some degree of respect for him. Banzai admits that while it was rough living under Mufasa's reign, his conditions were much more manageable than those of his irresponsible brother Scar, and even though Shenzi quickly nudges him to be silent about it around Scar, it is clear that she agrees with him.
Category:Relationships
Category:The Lion King relationships