There is an eclectic mix of fantastic characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but none are quite as tough as fan-favorite Toph Beifong. After essentially being headhunted by Aang to be his earthbending teacher, Toph became a fully-fledged member of Team Avatar and quickly established herself as a valuable member of the group.
Despite only being introduced into ATLA during season 2, Toph provides plenty of memorable moments across many installments of the series. Her best episodes are the ones that capture her sense of humor, resilience, and earthbending genius.
Lake Laogai
“Lake Laogai” beings with some textbook Toph humor. First, she makes a joke about how she thinks Sokka’s drawings of Appa look good, and then barely three minutes later she blasts a hole in the side of the gang’s house for absolutely no reason.
Later in the episode, things are far less light-hearted when Team Avatar begins to pursue Appa’s kidnappers. Toph really proves her utility to the group during the investigation. She uses her unique ability to detect when somebody is lying based on the change in their breathing and heartbeat to interview suspects, which ultimately leads the gang to Appa.
The Ember Island Players
The final episode before the four-part finale begins with a relatively jovial tone, with Team Avatar visiting a Fire Nation play that portrays their journey thus far. Toph is in fantastic comedic form throughout the entire episode, making the hilarious parodies of the members of Team Avatar even funnier with her wry reactions to them.
In addition, Toph showcases her wisdom during a conversation with Zuko, where she explains that Zuko has redeemed himself to his uncle. The conversation provides a relatively rare portrayal of Toph’s compassionate side, reminding fans how well-adjusted a person she is.
The Library
As usual, Toph provides some moments of comedy gold during “The Library”, from her awkward ‘conversation’ with Appa to her joke about pretending to spot the library in the desert.
Aside from Toph’s comedic contributions, what really positions “The Library” as one of her best episodes is the incredible strength that she showcases while holding up an entire building for such a long time. Although Toph allowed Appa to be captured, if she had not persisted with holding the library above ground, Team Avatar would surely have died, forever buried in a sandy tomb.
The Chase
“The Chase” is Toph’s first episode as a fully-fledged member of Team Avatar, and things certainly do not start well between her and the rest of the group. Despite showcasing how valuable an ally she can be with her ability to sense danger from miles away through the vibrations of the earth, Toph’s reluctance to help or be helped becomes a grating issue for the rest of the team.
After Toph parts from Team Avatar in her anger, she eventually crosses paths with Iroh, and the pair have a conversation over a cup of tea. Iroh shares some of his wisdom with Toph, helping her to realize the error of her ways and ultimately developing her character in the process.
Day Of The Black Sun (Both Parts)
On the Day of Black Sun, every member of the invasion force fought with great aplomb, and Toph is no exception. Toph showcased her unrivaled earthbending power during the initial assault on the Fire Nation, before using her unique metalbending ability to great effect by forcing open the metal doors to Ozai’s bunker.
One of Toph’s best episodes cannot be complete without a moment of brilliant comedy, and this moment is provided when Toph tests Azula’s ability to lie, which does not go as expected. After Azula tells an elaborate lie without so much as a stutter, Toph resorts to what she knows best, violence.
The Runaway
In “The Runaway”, Toph takes center-stage with her shrewd scams on Fire Nation gamblers, making for a very entertaining first half of the episode. Toph’s continued scamming of the locals ends up making her the subject of a wanted poster, which leads to an argument between her and Katara.
As with the events of “The Chase”, a conflict between Katara and Toph catalyzes Toph's character development. Fans are given an insight into Toph's feelings about her family and childhood when she addresses some of the repressed emotions during her conversation with Katara. The conversation certainly adds depth to Toph's character, while also developing her relationship with Katara.
The Earth King
After uncovering the Dai Li’s secret conspiracy, Team Avatar decides that they must go directly to the Earth King and tell him about their plan to invade the Fire Nation. However, Long Feng had ensured that the Earth King’s palace was heavily guarded, meaning Team Avatar would have to reluctantly fight their way inside.
Toph is incredible during the infiltration of the Earth King’s palace, providing fans with a full exhibition of her magnificent earthbending skillset. She lays waste to dozens of highly-trained Earth Kingdom soldiers with ease and style, flattens an enormous staircase, and lifts the gang to the palace’s threshold. Toph’s continued moments of epic action position “The Earth King” as one of her best episodes.
Sozin’s Comet (All Four Parts)
While many fans would have liked Toph to contribute more in the finale, the episode still contained some of her finest moments. First and foremost, Toph provides fans with one of the funniest scenes in the entire series when she declares herself as the Melon Lord during the team’s battle practice.
Later in the finale, when things are not so light-hearted, Toph’s metalbending proves once again to be an invaluable asset, playing a key role in the destruction of the Fire Nation airships. Toph showcases her genius by bending a metal suit of armor around herself, which she uses to defeat the airship crew, allowing for Suki to commandeer the vessel.
The Blind Bandit
“The Blind Bandit” is Toph’s first episode, and she is introduced to audiences in textbook Toph fashion. She immediately displays how tough and talented she is after defeating The Boulder with ease. As one of the strongest women in Avatar, it is no surprise that Aang was desperate to hire Toph to be his earthbending teacher.
“The Blind Bandit” is one of Toph’s best episodes because it provides audiences with a great deal of information about her character, including her family background, her unique earthbending abilities, and her general demeanor. Toph’s character is perfectly typified at the end of the episode when she defeats all of the Earth Rumble fighters by herself and is dubbed “the greatest earthbenders” that Master Yu had ever seen.
The Guru
“The Guru” is one of Toph’s best episodes quite simply because it contains one of the best moments in the entire series, her discovery of metal bending. The moment in which Toph becomes the first person in history to metalbend represents one of the most significant discoveries made in the Avatar universe.
Using her new discovery, Toph breaks out of her metal cage, defeats her captors with some slick earthbending, and quite reasonably declares: “I am the greatest earthbender in the world.” Toph then sets off, using a clever earthbending technique to propel herself forward, to rejoin Team Avatar in time for the finale.