Toph and Iroh: Receptivity and Communication
In Avatar, The Last Airbender, every main character has their opposite counterpart that also serves as their opponent at times. For Aang, it’s Zuko. For Katara, it’s Azula. For Sokka, it’s all of his girlfriends. The main character will interact with their opposite throughout the series. But for Toph, she only ever encounters her opposite in a one-time conversation. Her opposite, you may ask, is nonother than Uncle Iroh.
The pair formally meet in Book 2, Episode 8 in a forest in the Earth nation. Iroh and Toph are separated from Zuko and Katara, respectively, after a disagreement. While Iroh was trying to find Zuko, Toph was running away from Katara and the rest of the group. The interaction begins with Toph knocking Iroh off his feet with a rock move out of defense. He does not take this to heart, though. Thus, a conversation begins over a cup of tea, which blends the elements of fire and water, representative of Zuko, a fire bender, and Katara, a water bender.
The interaction was brief but deep. Toph opens up about people perceiving her to be weak because of her blindness, causing her as a result to be cold and apprehensive to help of any kind. Iroh compares her mindset to that of his nephew, Zuko, telling her, “There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you” and that she does not have to do things on her own in order to be strong.
Toph in turn asks Iroh about his nephew. Iroh states that his nephew is somewhat lost as he is navigating some recent life changes that have been difficult to manage. Iroh’s answer holds true for Katara who is grieving the death of her mother and seeing other families and communities who have been hurt by the Fire Nation just as hers was. It also holds true for Aang who is struggling to accept his fate as the Avatar and what comes with that title.
Iroh tells Toph that although his nephew does not want him around right now, if Zuko needs him he will always be there. Although unsaid, Toph holds this same sentiment toward her friends. Toph tells Iroh that his nephew is lucky to have him and departs with one final message to Iroh, “Maybe you should tell him you need him, too.”
This is probably not the likely pair that people would put together when watching the series, especially for what’s at stake, but they share a very similar background.
They were born into noble families that held certain expectations of them. Toph’s family expects her to be a quiet, well-mannered girl who is in need of constant assistance and protection due to her blindness. Iroh’s family expects him to be a great, powerful leader with a shared desire to conquer the other nations. Neither lived up to those expectations.
Because of this, both had to find solace in some way or in some place. For Iroh it is the Spirit World, and for Toph it is the Foggy Swamp. How they found these places is similar to how they found each other: Iroh was looking for his late son, Lu Ten, and Toph was running away from her family. These locations are magical in their own right, and Iroh and Toph are the only non-Avatar persons who have been able to tap into this magic in a positive manner.
They possess a great amount of mastery of their respective element, almost comparable to the Avatar, and created a new form of bending. Toph created metal bending and Iroh, although technically not a form of bending, can redirect lightening.
Although their screen time together was brief, it’s an encounter that is multilayered and can easily be missed since it is not violent in nature. It’s a cross generational conversation that altered the direction of the storylines for the characters. In fact, Toph may have been the only person to give Iroh meaningful advice, something that he is known to do for others, and Iroh is the only person Toph seemed open enough to listen to.
What I learned from watching and listening to the conversation is receptivity and communication. Being receptive to a conversation with someone new, being receptive to help from others, communicating to loved ones your needs and telling them how much they mean to you, and, most of all being, honest about these things.
Without this conversation, I believe Toph would have continued her journey alone, becoming even more reclusive, and living in the Foggy Swamp at a far younger age than she does in the series. For Iroh, I believe he would have continued treating Zuko as Lu Ten instead of as his own person.
No matter the age, a person can impart wisdom and learn a valuable lesson.
