The Last Airbender Season 2's Toph Change Completely Misses The Point

Netflix’s live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender is making some changes to Toph’s character, which completely contradict the heart and soul of the original series. Live-action remakes of beloved animated series are always going to be controversial, and, comparatively, Netflix’s Avatar has fared pretty well. Season 1 came with a handful of troublesome changes, but it wasn’t quite enough to damn itself. Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 may be another story, however.

One of the exciting aspects of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 is the introduction of Toph. This is a fan favorite character from the original series. She’s spunky, sarcastic, tomboyish, and breathtakingly talented at earthbending—all qualities that the live-action remake could enhance. Unfortunately, teasers suggest that Netflix’s version, played by Miya Cech, will be a bit more mature and more traditionally feminine. It’s a strange creative choice, and one that is frustratingly off target.

The Animated Avatar Put Unique Twists On Martial Arts Tropes

Cech certainly looks fantastic as Toph. There’s little to complain about in this regard. However, the trailer for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 shows a much calmer, more sagely seeming character than the one we are used to from the animated series. This aligns with Cech’s own tease that Toph would come across a bit older and more feminine than the original character. It’s deeply aggravating, since Toph’s and everyone else’s quirks are what Avatar is all about.

On the surface level, Toph falls perfectly within an age-old martial-arts character archetype. Time and time again, we have seen wise teachers who have learned to fight despite their blindness, relying on other senses to become even deadlier than their peers. These figures often serve to teach and guide the central protagonist, and Toph certainly falls within that trope. However, there’s so much more to her than that.

Toph is a more dynamic character than typical archetypes would allow, and that’s all thanks to her backstory and personality quirks. Despite her family’s affluence, she spent her life fighting for independence. This shaped the character we saw on screen, allowing Toph to have a deeper influence on Aang, Katara, Sokka, and the overarching story. By seemingly transforming Toph back into a more traditional archetype, Netflix’s live-action remake has missed the point of how the original Avatar fought to turn martial-arts tropes on their heads.

Avatar’s Toph Change Risks Stunting Her Character Growth

The version of Toph we see in the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 trailer doesn’t necessarily come out of nowhere. Cech’s voiceover implies that this is a wiser, more self-assured, and centered figure, similar to who she eventually becomes in the animated series. However, since this seems to be how the character will be introduced, the implication is that we won’t get a chance to see that same kind of development.

If Toph doesn’t start as an aggressively rebellious child in Netflix’s live-action remake, then we can’t watch her develop into something new. This stunted character development is something the new Avatar: The Last Airbender has already been criticized for. Sokka is a prime example. He starts far less sexist in this new version of the story, which means he doesn’t have a chance to learn and grow into a better version of himself. Development and growth are the heart and soul of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it seems Netflix doesn’t realize that yet.