Toph and Katara: Strong Female Characters Done Right

Okay, so my wife didn't write the script itself. She doesn't have time for that. She wrote down the parts of Toph and Katara's arcs that she thought would be best for this video, and I wrote the actual script, then we looked at it together.

Hollywood really cannot write good, strong female characters right now (with a few moderate exceptions). They insist on making their heroines invincible, flawless, inordinately competent Mary Sues who are never outdone in any area by anyone. They are boring and uninspiring. Toph and Katara provide examples of how to write competent, badass female characters who have depth, satisfying arcs, and inspire the audience.

#avatarthelastairbender

0:00 Intro
2:08 Katara's Motherly Nature
3:08 Katara's Hope
5:30 Katara's Mercy
6:30 Katara's Healing Nature
8:09 Toph Intro
9:09 Toph's Disability and Adaptability
10:35 Toph Overcoming Weakness
11:42 Toph's Self Confidene
13:14 Toph's Character Payoff
16:00 Conclusion

[master_samwise]

You better believe I'll be making a video about Netflix's Katara.

[coagulatedsalts]

one thing i love is katara faces the man that killed her mom and spares him. not because she has a sense of justice but because she feels conflicted. normally girls are shown as forgiving and taking the high ground because they have a strong sense of morales. you don’t really see female characters struggling with morality unless they’re villains, but katara being a hero struggling with the right choice is very refreshing to see.

[TryinBin]

The way the Avatar Company wrote their female characters can be summed up in Suki's one line: "I am a warrior. But I'm a girl too"

[victorgabriel]

one thing that i guess, is toph was fast on accepting Zuko, because she first heard about him from his uncle Iroh, opposing the others who had to fight and run from him many times, seeing only a guy who want to capture them, toph had this chance of knowing Zuko as a human being through his uncle, instead of seeing him as a firebender who wants to get the avatar.

[EthanMallonee]

"I _am_ a warrior... but I'm a girl too"
-Suki. (Book 1, Chapter 4, "The Kyoshi Warriors")

[windwalker]

Toph and Katara are nicely contrasted by Azula. A firebending prodigy, master strategist and manipulator, Azula is able to overpower or outmaneuver every problem she's had in her life. When we first meet her, she would be a Mary Sue if she were a protagonist. But that turns out to be her flaw. She has never experienced setbacks, and so when she does, she can't handle it and melts down. She goes from a charismatic and overpowered sociopath to a complete mess, and that also makes her one of the best villains ever in animation.

[morganmarks]

Toph mastering sandbending is also such an important note because it demonstrates her care for the group as well. Losing Appa was deeply traumatic for her, not just because she was powerless, but also- she would see it as it being her fault the team lost an integral part of the group (It's not actually her fault, she was saving the lives of her friends while holding up a massive building, but Aang places the blame on her regardless, even if he regrets those words later). I'm sure that even after Appa was retrieved, she felt immense guilt, and wanted to not only assure herself that it would never happen again, but also show the group that she is The Greatest Earthbender, and that they can still count on her. Just the fact that she mastered sandbending shows that she cares deeply for the Gaang, even if it was portrayed as her showing off how great she is lmao

[bewilder]

Remember folks, this legendary series came at 2005. Its been 18 years, yet still hold relevance in character growth discussion.

[bloodrune]

When writing a good character comes before writing a strong woman, that’s when you have actually inspiring strong women.

[lifeofsaffran]

Basically, writers just have to remember that women are human too. “Strong female character” doesn’t mean a female character who is strong, but one who is complex, well written, with wants and needs, and flaws, and who overcomes and evolves. Even Katara who is often idolized through Aang’s eyes as an perfect motherly angel— Incites rebellion, steals from pirates, defies sexist tradition and challenges a master even though she knows she will loose, goes to war meetings to plan the invasion, carry revenge in her heart, and breaks down and yells at Toph.

[ruriva]

I love what Azula characterization as a villainess does with the strong female character trope. As Zuko said “everything always came easy to her, everyone adore here” which sounds very Mary Sue. She was so close to perfect barely a strand out of place. The fact she never had to struggle at anything is a major component in what set her down the path of evil.

[marissabulso]

“The expression of virtue through a woman’s actions.” That is a beautiful line that rings with truth.

[aAlLeExXize]

I actually think that Princess Yue is a fantastic example of a strong female character that almost never gets mentioned in videos like this. She starts out with every cliché ever: beautiful, a literal princess, soft-spoken, no special powers (no bending, no martial arts), she falls for the hero, betrothed against her will, needs to be protected because she's too physically weak (very sick as a child etc.). And yet she is unbelievably strong. She sacrifices her life to save her people (in one of the most emotional scenes in the whole show imo), has a strong sense of duty and responsibility, is not afraid to communicate her feelings for Sokka, but chooses "the right thing" (getting married to the guy her father chose). I think they did a great job with her and proved that strong can mean emotional strength as well

[georgekostaras]

What I love about Toph is that she's a dick. That's her character arc. She doesn't need to learn to be powerful or mighty. She has to learn to put aside her ego. She's effortlessly talented and also a massive jerk and that's why she's so fun and relatable.

[domskillet]

You're actually missing a key component of what makes Katara a great character. At the beginning of the show, she's an utter novice at bending and fighting. She makes incremental improvements nearly every episode because she's always practicing. Paku notes her determination and work ethic to contrast Aang's natural prowess. Rather than Katara naturally being so incredible, they make it clear that her relentless nature (which we've seen in countless other areas so it's perfectly in charcter) is what makes her a master by the end. The Waterbending Scroll episode is the epitome of this. Aang being naturally incredible makes sense given he's the avatar, and up to this point Katara has been the best waterbender she's ever met, so she was shocked and jealous how Aang surpassed her immediately. She has flaws that she overcomes, and her character strengths win out in the end

[duskydancing]

I also feel like Sokka's character development is a good example of turning toxic masculinity into healthy masculinity. He's always had traditionally masculine traits like physical strength, aggression, skill with logic and strategy, protectiveness, etc, but he didn't know how to hone and utilize those traits in a good way. He starts out arrogantly demanding to be the leader over Katara because he's the man, but he learns that people will naturally look to true leaders by their actions and virtues. He literally becomes a "real man". And the fact that he keeps up with the powerful benders around him is a real testament to the strengths of his character.

Edit: Glad to see there are more Sokka fans out there than I thought :) I thought I'd worded my comment in a way that wouldn't portray all masculinity as bad, but it never hurts to clarify. I don't mean "toxic masculinity" in the hyper-politicized sense of "all men are toxic". The masculine traits I mentioned can be good or bad. They were just "toxic" in early S1 Sokka because he was immature and inexperienced. By the end of S3, Sokka had gone through a whole character arc without losing any of his masculine traits. The whole sequence of him taking down the airships, and specifically the shot of him protecting Toph from falling debris, is genuinely one of my favorites in the finale.

[Luke_SkywaIker]

Another example of great modern female characters is Puss in Boots 2. Kitty and Goldilocks are both amazingly written female characters who are allowed to be badass and vulnerable and actually change throughout the story.

[mahro]

What I really love about Tophs character arc, is that she evolves from a girl who doesn't want to be dependent on others
to a girl who trusts her friends so much, that she throws herself and the others into the air, where she is completely helpless without any hestitation,
just guided by Sokkas pointing finger on the airship they want to enter.

[lukeblythe]

Most people who complain about Katara as a character forget that she’s 14 and only recognize the more mature side of her and expect her to be that mother

[KermRiv]

The blind toph jokes were some of the best gags in the series. Definitely my favorite recurring one next to the cabbage guy.