10 Iconic Episodes Of Avatar: The Last Airbender

As the gang use an underground earthbending tournament to scout a potential teacher for Aang, they discover Toph Beifong, fighting under the alias “The Blind Bandit.” Although she is blind, Toph is able to sense the vibrations in the ground and uses them to see her environment and to fight her opponents.

Aang is convinced Toph is meant to be his teacher after he remembers seeing a vision of her in a previous episode and his friend Bumi told him to be on the lookout for someone who listens and waits before striking. Unfortunately, Toph has overprotective parents attempting to keep her from danger and wish to convert her to more exceptional behaviour of Earth Kingdom aristocracy.

But Toph goes against her family's wishes and runs away from home with Team Avatar to be Aang’s earthbending teacher. This episode is remembered fondly by fans as it gave them a memorable first impression of Toph.

She immediately drew sympathy from the audience with her story of growing up blind, but also earned their immediate admiration thanks to her fierce, direct and belligerent personality that added a new dynamic to the gang and quickly made her a fan favourite.