Lin Beifong's relationships

This page comprises Lin Beifong's relationships with other characters in the Avatar World. Lin is, for the most part, a direct, uncompromising, strict, and hot-headed woman. As the chief of the Metalbending Police Force, she regards the city's welfare as her top priority, and her goal is to end all criminal activity in Republic City.

Toph Beifong
Lin is the only known child of Toph Beifong and has inherited her mother's earthbending skills. As the earthbending prodigy's daughter, she was trained in the all the various skills and techniques of earthbending, including metalbending and seismic sense. With Toph having passed away, Lin continued her mother's duty as the Chief of the Metalbending Police Force.

Lin and Toph share certain similarities. Lin is tough and straightforward, traits she seems to have inherited from Toph. Toph also never cared that Aang was the Avatar, just as Lin refused to compromise and give Korra special treatment when the girl was arrested for damages to the city. A notable difference though, is that Toph was quite relaxed about rules, albeit only during her childhood, whereas Lin rigidly follows and enforces them. However, Lin has shown that she is willing to break the rules when the people she cares about are in jeopardy.

Korra
"'You alright?' 'Fine, thanks to you.' 'Don't mention it, kid.' — Lin Beifong and Korra in 'And the Winner Is...'."



As the city's police chief, Lin is uncomprimising in her duty of stopping crime and protecting the citizens of Republic City. As such, she immediately disliked Korra when the young Avatar flagrantly destroyed public and private property, and caused a great of collateral damage with her battle against three members of the criminal Triple Threat Triad, despite having assisted in their apprehension. Korra's stunt at evading arrest also did little to impress Lin, asserting that the Avatar's style of "vigilante justice" had no place in her city. It was clear her opinion of the Avatar had not changed at all with her attendance of Tarrlok's gala, where Lin maintained that Korra had done "nothing to deserve" the praise of the city.

When the Fire Ferrets arrived at City Hall to protest against the United Republic Council's stance of appeasing Amon's request and closing down the Pro-bending Arena, Lin agreed with the team, affirming that it was "time the benders of this city displayed some strength and unity" against the Equalist threat, much to Korra's surprise. While guarding the arena alongside her fellow metalbending officers and Tenzin, she noted how different Korra was from Aang, stating that Korra was as "tough as nails" compared to the previous Avatar. In turn, Tenzin stressed that Lin and Korra were similar in that regard, and would get along if Lin would give her another chance. When the Equalists attacked and Korra attempted to pursue Amon, Lin came to her aid, propelling her to the roof using her metalbending in order to intercept the escaping Equalists. Lin also became key in the battle on the Arena rooftops against Lieutenant and his lackeys.

Though her goal was to leave Korra after evening the odds, in order to infiltrate the Equalist airship, Lin reacted quickly to save the Avatar from falling to her death through the glass dome of the Pro-bending Arena, revealing that she was concerned for the Avatar's safety even over her duty of pursuing Amon. After witnessing how she handled herself against the Equalists, Lin came to respect Korra and at least take her opinion into consideration. In Turning the Tides, Lin was given a chance to keep her bending if she told Amon where Korra was. Lin refused, and Amon took her bending away. Following Korra's access of her spiritual nature, and regaining her own bending from the spirit of Aang, Korra used energybending to give Lin her bending abilities back to which she was grateful.

Aang
Since her childhood, Lin knew Avatar Aang, and Tenzin stated that the two "got along famously".

Saikhan


Saikhan is Lin's right-hand man and captain of the Metalbending Police Force. Lin helped him rise quickly in rank with her tutelage and because of this he thinks very highly of her. Lin trusted Saikhan enough that she appointed him as her successor as Chief of Police following her resignation.

Metalbending officers
"'I'm not giving up. I'm going to find my officers and take Amon down.' — Lin to Tenzin in 'The Aftermath'."



Lin is the daughter of Toph, the founder of the Metalbending Police Force, and so has always had a connection to the law. At some point, Lin joined the force, and eventually followed in her mother's footsteps and became the Chief of Police. Lin only took the best metalbenders into her force. When Saikhan became a police officer, she saw potential in him and took him under her wing. Under her tutelage, he managed to rise in the ranks and eventually became her right-hand man. Acts like this have given Lin a lot of respect among her men.

After a number of officers were captured during the fight between Hiroshi Sato and the Metalbending Police Force, Lin stated that she was going to resign from her position as Chief of Police in order to rescue the officers "her way", outside of the law. This further proves that Lin has a strong bond with the rest of the police officers.

Pema
With Lin and Tenzin's relationship growing cold, Pema used this as an opportunity to confess her love to Tenzin, which culminated in marriage. Tenzin claimed that Lin tried to imprison Pema, but failed, implying a hostile relationship between the two women. Years later, Lin appeared to be on civil terms with Pema prior to the Equalist attack on Air Temple Island, even visibly concerned by Pema about to undergo labor in the middle of the attack.

Airbending kids
While Lin was friendly to Tenzin and his wife, so was she to their children, Jinora, Ikki and Meelo; as seen when Lin not hesitating to protect the Air Temple Island and the kids from the Equalists while Tenzin was about to meet with the other councilmen, while halfheartedly agreed to bathe Meelo. While the island was under attack, Lin was protective of the children, telling them to hide inside the women's quarters during the assault. But when Lin was in danger of getting captured by the Lieutenant, the children went to her rescue and defeated the intruders with airbending. Later, when the Equalists saw Tenzin and his family escaping on Oogi, Lin stalled the Equalist airships from capturing the fleeing family by jumping toward the airships and trying to destroy them, eventually willing to let herself be captured and have her bending stripped away by Amon. As Tenzin's family went into exile, Meelo acknowledged Lin as his hero.

Tenzin
"Lin, with so much on the line it would be nice if we could help each other out, at least for one night."

"Like old times?"

"Like old times." "Fine. I'll try to be less abrasive than usual." "I would appreciate that." Tenzin and Lin Beifong in "And the Winner Is...".



Lin and Tenzin seem to have a distant, yet professional, relationship. They interact contentiously, but she seems to warm up to him at times. She is not so inflexible or unreasonable as to refuse Tenzin's request to let Korra off with a warning at their first meeting. As the past Avatar's son and Toph's daughter, Tenzin and Lin knew each other since they were children. At some point, they had a romantic relationship, but it began to falter when Tenzin realized they had "different goals", according to him. Pema confessed her love to Tenzin while he was still with Lin, resulting in his breaking off his relationship with the earthbender, and Lin trying to get Pema thrown in jail, albeit unsuccessfully. Since then, their own priorities in life continued to draw them apart, causing their interactions to become somewhat strained. As noted by Korra, Lin appears to still have some unresolved feelings for Tenzin. On the night of the championship pro-bending match, Tenzin requested they call a truce, to which Lin vaguely brought up their old relation and agreed. They were both caught off guard during the match and electrocuted by Equalists, and Lin's first action upon recovering was to check on Tenzin.

Amon
"'I won't tell you anything, you monster!' — Lin angrily to Amon before he strips her of her earthbending."

As former chief of police, Lin acknowledges Amon as a threat to the safety of Republic City's citizens. When the Pro-bending Tournament was sabotaged by the Equalists, she was rendered unconscious while Amon staged his speech. When she awoke, she pursued him and aided Korra in battling the Lieutenant, as well as a few chi blockers. After the battle, she expressed regret at falling for his plan.

When she was captured and taken to Amon himself, he ordered that she tell him were the Avatar was, in exchange for her to keep her bending. Lin, however, refused to tell him anything, subsequently losing her earthbending and metalbending abilities with her defiance. Following Korra's access of her spiritual nature, and regaining her own bending from the spirit of Aang, Korra used energybending to restore Lin's bending abilities.

Hiroshi Sato
"'The source was a setup! You lured us down here.' - Lin Beifong to Hiroshi Sato in 'The Aftermath'."

Having learned that Hiroshi Sato is in cahoots with Amon and the Equalists, Lin views him as another enemy that threatens the safety of Republic City's citizens.

Tarrlok
"'Chief Beifong was supposed to protect Republic City, but she was powerless to stop Amon's attack on the arena. She has failed us all.' — Tarrlok about Lin in a conference in 'The Aftermath'."

As the United Republic Council was about to cancel the Pro-bending Tournament Finals after Amon's threat on the Arena, Chief Beifong interfered and convinced the Council to keep the Arena open. She promised that the Metalbending Police Force would be able to protect the Arena from any Equalist attack. Tarrlok then asked Lin if she would personally accept responsibility for anything that happened during the finals, to which she agreed. Tenzin then made the remark that Tarrlok did not have Lin's best interest in mind.

After failing to protect the Pro-bending Arena from the Equalists' attack, Councilman Tarrlok publicly stated that Chief Beifong had failed Republic City, and that new leadership was needed. Later, on the way to Hiroshi Sato's estate after receiving a tip that he was manufacturing weapons for the Equalists, Tenzin and Lin realized that if they were wrong, Lin would lose her job as Chief of Police.