Book 2: The Blind Bandit

Aang finds an Earthbending teacher - a shit-talking blind girl.

This is a single post for a single episode because it introduces my favorite character;

This girl, for the next seventy-some odd years, held the title of the greatest Earthbender in the world - starting from twelve years old.

Also this was supposed to go out way earlier, sorry to anyone who was hotly anticipating it or something.

Deep in the heart of the Earth Kingdom, in the city of Gaoling, the gaang is looking for a teacher for Aang - and they find a scam school, I guess kind of in the league of Barbazon, remember them?

Well, to be fair, the kids do earthbend and the technique isn't bad.

It just doesn't work work for Aang.

So they go to EARTH RUMBLE SIX!

"Bumi says I need a teacher who listens to the earth. He just listens to his big muscles."

Also; this guy is an Expy of The Rock. He's even called The Boulder!

But clearly, no one needs to worry about this girl; Who defeats him like it ain't no thing.

She's using Seismic Sense.

 There's a really great fight coming at the end of the episode.

Aang tries to talk with her, but he 'defeats' her with Airbending which, of course she has never encountered before, and she leaves, angry. By the way, no one else in the arena had encountered it either, remember that.

Eventually they do find her - Toph Beifong, the daughter of a prestigious Earth Kingdom family.

But of course, Toph is leading a double life because her parents think she's incapable of doing anything on her own. And frankly, she doesn't want to help Aang, still angry at how he defeated her.

There's a long bit where the Gaang visit the Beifong home officially and Aang tries to convince her parents that she's quite competent.

Later, Toph explains that she sees the vibrations in the earth, and it's like knowing where everything is.

The talk is cut short as she and Aang are captured by The Earthbending School teacher and the Proprietor of the Earth Rumble - they think the pair cheated to take the money.

The good guys intend to trade the winnings for Toph and Aang, but, once again, the bad guys know that it is a lot more in their interest to give Aang to the Fire Nation.

Until Toph talks shit and we get the greatest fight of the series so far, she beats the shit out of these grown men. It is glorious. 

Pictured; Depressingly awful quality.

And her father watches her and sees how competent she is!

Too bad that doesn't mean shit, as he intends to put her on a shorter leash and have her watched constantly. Until she escapes and goes with the Gaang, huzzah! There's a fourth wheel now!

It makes me wonder about other disabilities in the Avatarverse, and how different benders might work with their elements. In Korra, there's a woman with no arms who can waterbend, and ends up using her skill to make some deadly arms.