That's precisely why it's filler especially since there is a lot of missing buildup/backstory to the finale. You can skip The Runaway and it won't make a difference. The Bei Fongs didn't finance the Invasion or The Siege in Ba Sing Se. Toph's behaviour didn't change in anyway after that episode.
The level of attention Mai got would have been fine if they had given her the right kind of attention. The Beach was an opportunity for that. Her actions at the end aren't really confusing: if anything it's the fact that they're so simple to interpret (Boyfriend >>> Little Brother) that make fans like the OP tag her as shallow. Now the writers may have been intending to depict her as that but I don't think so.
Azula lost Mai's loyalty the moment she started demanding it but until then, she was given it freely. It's not a question of who aske Mai for loyalty but who she chose to be loyal to. (Unlike Ty Lee who isn't given the choice until the very last minute.) Mai has always been the independent minion with her loyalty to Azula all the more assured because it's given so freely. Like I said earlier, it's not until she is with Zuko that she starts fearing Azula.
Actually I think you made a point elsewhere that Mai is attracted to Zuko's passion, his penchant for pointless gestures. She's been attracted to him for so long, and he has changed so much in the way he sees the world, that it's hard to say what other than his personality and looks that attract her. I think one can argue that Mai finds people opposite of her in nature attractive - fiery Azula and flighty Ty Lee. I don't think she's flimsy but she does strike me as someone comfortable with letting a trusted other be her own moral centre.
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The level of attention Mai got would have been fine if they had given her the right kind of attention. The Beach was an opportunity for that. Her actions at the end aren't really confusing: if anything it's the fact that they're so simple to interpret (Boyfriend >>> Little Brother) that make fans like the OP tag her as shallow. Now the writers may have been intending to depict her as that but I don't think so.
Azula lost Mai's loyalty the moment she started demanding it but until then, she was given it freely. It's not a question of who aske Mai for loyalty but who she chose to be loyal to. (Unlike Ty Lee who isn't given the choice until the very last minute.) Mai has always been the independent minion with her loyalty to Azula all the more assured because it's given so freely. Like I said earlier, it's not until she is with Zuko that she starts fearing Azula.
Actually I think you made a point elsewhere that Mai is attracted to Zuko's passion, his penchant for pointless gestures. She's been attracted to him for so long, and he has changed so much in the way he sees the world, that it's hard to say what other than his personality and looks that attract her. I think one can argue that Mai finds people opposite of her in nature attractive - fiery Azula and flighty Ty Lee. I don't think she's flimsy but she does strike me as someone comfortable with letting a trusted other be her own moral centre.