Now streaming on Netflix, the second season of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” introduces Miyako Cech as Toph Beifong, a small-but-mighty warrior whose Earthbending skills and blunt honesty made her a fan-favorite character in the original animated series. Like many characters in this live-action adaptation, some aspects of Toph’s life have been expanded upon, including one that co-showrunner Christine Boylan initially assumed would be a step too far.
Toph’s parents, Lao and Poppy Beifong, appear in just one episode of the original Nickelodeon animated series, where they’re portrayed as overprotective, overbearing, and toxic. That much remains true, but Netflix’s retelling takes it one step further, giving viewers a clearer look at the Beifongs’ true ruthlessness.
In the second season finale, Lady Beifong reunites with Toph over tea, confessing the insecurities that inspire her questionable parenting. Toph’s mother says she sees herself as the fragile one, not Toph. In fact, she’s in awe of her daughter’s strength and grace. Once again asking Toph to return home, she promises, “Things will be different.” And for a moment, Toph allows herself to believe it’s true. Unfortunately, it all turns out to be an emotionally manipulative ruse — Lady Beifong has drugged Toph’s tea, which Toph realizes just as she loses consciousness.
“I remember pitching that scene, and I thought it was too much,” Boylan tells TVLine. “But everybody was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, OK. I guess we’re doing this.'”
Exploring the Beifongs more fully was a fun experience for Boylan, who says she looks at “Avatar: The Last Airbender” as historical fantasy. “Reading the Kiyoshi books, the Beifongs go so far back,” she says. “They’re such old money, and they’re making quite a bit of money off all sides of the war. Toph has to get her distance from them to figure out who she is and what side she’s on. We looked at a lot of historical examples of families like this that were even more ruthless. It gave us a lot of stuff to play with.”
“We kept giving Lady Beifong opportunities to make the right choice, but it’s fun to see her continue to make bad choices when it comes to her relationship with her daughter,” adds co-showrunner Jabbar Raisani.
