Toph and Sokka were integral members of Team Avatar. Over the series run, we see them get closer and closer; but on more than one occasion they were not just roommates. They were best friends.
Toph and Sokka had one of the best friendships on Avatar: The Last Airbender. They got along well; teasing each other, understanding each other and even protecting each other. At every turn, they had each other’s backs.
Of all the members of Team Avatar, Toph and Sokka seemed to be the closest. Toph was closest to Sokka, and Sokka the best. Some members of the fanbase are of the opinion that Toph had a crush on him.
Whatever the case may be, romantic or not; let’s take a look at ten instances where the Toph and Sokka friendship was at its best from the series.
1. Toph and Sokka’s Friendship At Its Best: When She Didn’t Count Him As A Fighter
When Azula, Ty Lee and Mai kept tracking the Avatar gang wherever they went; Team Avatar decided it was time to stop running and face them square on. Before they fought, Toph commented that they were three on three and could easily take on Azula’s group.
Sokka objected to the math. As he was the fourth person there, he told her that there were four people. Toph responded, telling him she did not consider him as a fighter because he could not bend. Sokka was offended by this, taking it very personally. He mentioned that despite the bending handicap, he could still fight.Toph didn’t let up though. She teased him back by saying “Okay, three on three plus Sokka”.
2. When Toph Appreciated Sokka’s Art
Sokka is often considered the comic relief of the series, so more often than not, he is not taken very seriously. We see this especially in Season 2, where the Avatar Gang reached Ba Sing Se in search of Appa. Sokka tried to contribute to the search by making a drawing of Appa to use as “Missing” posters. Everyone else made fun of his art, saying it was nothing like Appa.
It is here that Toph and Sokka’s friendship is really highlighted. Toph was the only one who appreciated his drawing; telling him that the drawing looked just like Appa to her. Sokka had begun to thank her before he realized that she was making fun of him; since she was blind and could not have seen the drawing.
3. Toph and Sokka’s Friendship At Its Best: When She Genuinely Missed Him
In the season 3 episode “Sokka’s Master,” when Team Avatar was in the Fire Nation, Sokka wanted to learn professional swordsmanship. There, he found a teacher for himself named Pian Dao. While he was away training for his new skill, the rest of the gang members became bored without his antics.
Toph said that she missed Sokka. When he came back, she turned away and blushed while telling him that she did not care that he was gone. Sokka, however, understood and said he was touched. It was just another instance when their friendship really blossomed.
4. When They Had A Heart-To-Heart Conversation
After Katara and Toph had a huge fight over Toph scamming Fire Nation citizens, Sokka pulled his friend aside to have a heart-to-heart conversation.
Toph and Sokka went on to have a very lengthy conversation about the state of things. Sokka opened up to Toph about Katara and how she had been such a source of strength for him. On her end, Toph also agreed that Katara was actually not that bad. Neither of them had ever opened up about something like this to anyone else. It was a great moment to share.
5. Toph and Sokka’s Friendship At Its Best: When Sokka Complained About The Dark
In the season two episode; “The Drill,” Team Avatar devised a plan to get inside the drill. Their plan was to stay hidden underground until the drill came directly above them and then sneak in once it did. Toph made a hole in the ground and everyone jumped in.
When she closed the hole, Sokka complained about how it was so dark in there that he could not see anything, forgetting that Toph was blind. Toph sarcastically shot back mentioning how much of a nightmare that must be. He realized his mistake and immediately apologized.
6. When She Almost Crushed Him
In the episode “The Desert,” Team Avatar got attacked by a horde of Buzzard Wasps at night. Since these creatures were flying ones, Toph could not see where they were, but she was still trying to help by bending rocks to throw at them.
She threw a huge boulder at one of the creatures and narrowly missed, crushing Sokka underneath it. She apologized to him, and he replied that he would take care of this problem. This indicated that he considered her to be close enough to him for him to not be offended by what she did. He perfectly understood her.
7. Toph and Sokka’s Friendship At Its Best: The Way She Clung Onto Him On Appa
There were several points in the show where Toph and Sokka would sit close to each other as they flew on Appa. Most of those times, Toph would hold on Sokka clinging to him, or would simply just link her arm with his arm.
Seeing them sitting together, just hanging out as friends and talking, was really an endearing sight to see. With scenes like those in the show, it was easy to normalize platonic friendships between two characters of different genders. Toph and Sokka’s friendship helped to make platonic relationships between friends of the opposite gender.
8. When He Took Her To Safety
In the episode “The Desert,” after Aang found out that the sandbenders had kidnapped Appa and muzzled him, he flew into a monstrous rage. He was so upset that he went into the Avatar state; and it looked like he was about to destroy everyone in front of him. Sand was flying everywhere as Aang rose into the sky. It was already difficult for Toph to see in the desert because of the sand, and now she was completely helpless. Sokka came to her rescue, taking Toph and running away from danger. It’s a testament to the Toph and Sokka friendship that in the face of danger, Sokka’s first instinct wasn’t to run away, but to save Toph. He could have instinctively run away to safety, but he didn’t.
9. Toph and Sokka Friendship At Its Best: When She Saved Him
In “The Serpent’s Pass” episode, Team Avatar had the task of walking across a very narrow and dangerous path to get across to the other side. As they made their way, some Fire Nations soldiers caught wind of them and tried to stop them.
One of the soldier’s attacks caused a huge amount of debris to fall. The debris would have fallen right on top of Sokka and buried him underneath, but Toph deflected it with the use of earthbending.
10. Toph and Sokka Friendship At Its Best: When They Were About To Die
In the final battle against the Fire Nation, Toph and Sokka were on a Fire Nation airship, fighting their army. While deflecting an attack from one of the soldiers, they fell off the side of the airship.
Sokka held on to Toph tightly as she hung in the air. Soon they were surrounded by the Fire Nation soldiers, and it seemed like they were going to be killed. Sokka could have saved himself if he had let go of Toph, but he held on to her and was ready to die with her. Yet, despite everything that happened between them, they still couldn’t let go of the awkwardness between them. Luckily, they survived the onslaught and went on to win the war.