So I’m sure people have already pointed at least some of this out, but I haven’t seen it all in one place yet.
Doesn’t anyone find it suspicious that Toph’s age isn’t listed on her profile? You could argue “Oh it’s just her statue” but nuh-uh, Aang and Zuko’s statues have THEIR ages listed. Zuko’s age is how old he is because he is still alive. Aang’s is how old he was when he died.
The fact that Toph’s age isn’t listed begs two questions:
Is she still alive?
If she’s dead, when did she die?If she died as an older lady, why wouldn’t we just see her age listed as however old she was, like Aang?
Other thing to observe is that Toph did serve as a Republic City cop, as far as we’re aware. We saw her in their uniform in Korra’s vision - very likely its first chief, right? Like her own Dai Li. If Toph is still alive and kicking, why isn’t she in Republic City? Where would she have gone off to? If I was still alive I’d want to stick to where I lived, where my daughter was. We know Zuko is traveling the world as “an ambassador for world balance” but I’m sure that’s the kind of political stuff Toph would abhor. Theoretically, her having some kind of fallout with her daughter or someone important could spur her leaving and being some crotchety old woman, I suppose…
But as stubborn as Toph is, there’s no questioning that she doesn’t really like being alone, by the end of the series - at the most, she enjoyed and loved the family she found in the Gaang (“Do you really think friendships that last more than one lifetime?” so precious). At the least, she loves having someone to boss around. So why would be just travel the world, then? Anyway,that aside (as I think that’s not likely), her lack of age seems suspicious either way.
Lin’s description cites that she is uncompromising and believes in military might. It would stand to reason that if her mother and/or father (if she ever knew her father) were killed when she was younger, it would spur this kind of hard-ass attitude. Especially if Toph died due to NOT enforcing military might and assertive force in the name of upholding peace.
I also found out earlier today that “Yakone” (the man who threatened Republic City 42 years ago) is an Inuit name that can be translated roughly as “red aurora” or “blood in the snow.” This seems to allude to the idea that Yakone was a bloodbender.
And as awesome as Toph is, I’m sorry, but a skilled bloodbender would certainly be the most likely thing that could kill her - and she was the CHIEF OF POLICE in Republic City, she would be the FIRST person, most likely, to fight him.
The flashback sequence with Aang looked like a court room. Yakone looked like he was on trial.
What if that was a courtroom, and the trial was in regards to the death of Toph Beifong?
Aang is a very peaceful guy, right? What would spur him to “deal with Yakone head on?” Maybe murdering one of his best friends, you think?
Whatever happened, Tenzin got pretty pissed when Tarlok brought it up - which means something bad happened.
This theory I’m proposing is obviously dark and unpleasant, I’m just showing these tidbits I’ve observed and trying to think of what they represent. I mean, we got Zuko’s age AND the fact that he’s still alive handed to us through the website, not even the show. Why wouldn’t they do the same with Toph, then? I’m just saying…it seems suspicious, and there’s a theory for you to consider until we find out more about this ‘skeleton in the closet.’
Whether this idea is true or not, I hope the truth behind the matter is as potentially dark and mature as would be fitting for how it’s been referenced. I look forward to finding out.
