Lin Beifong (北方琳, Běifāng Lín) is a fictional major character, voiced by Mindy Sterling, in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014.
Lin's mother, Toph Beifong, greatly aided the previous avatar, Aang, in his efforts to save the Earth Kingdom from destruction.
Unlike Toph however, Lin can also be characterized as bitter, which primarily stemmed from her strained relationship with both her mother and her half-sister, Suyin Beifong.
[4] Lin Beifong's character design was inspired by Han Young Ja, a longtime friend and colleague of Konietzko and DiMartino.
[1] Lin initially held a grudge against Tenzin over their breakup several years earlier, but agreed to “bury the hatchet” in their effort to secure a sporting event from a terrorist group, the Equalists.
[11] Six months later, Lin and the Republic City Police force would investigate the bombing of the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center.
When Korra and Mako initially broke up (over issues related to the bombing) at the city police station, Lin, finding an overturned table, demanded to know what happened.
[12] A few days later, Lin traveled to Mako's apartment to investigate incriminating evidence in connection with the bombing of the cultural center.
[13] Lin and her fellow officers later provided security at the pro-bending arena during the premiere screening of a film starring Bolin.
When Varrick, who bankrolled the motion picture, was outed as the mastermind of not only the attempted kidnapping of President Raiko at the event, but also the bombing of the cultural center, Lin promptly arrested him and freed Mako.
After helping Korra free captive airbenders in the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se, Lin would join Team Avatar (Korra, Asami, Bolin and Mako) in searching for one more reported airbender in the Earth Kingdom city of Zaofu.
[15] When Lin arrived in Zaofu, she elected to stay on the ship instructing Team Avatar to not reveal her presence.
[16] The next morning, Lin took up Suyin's trusted advisor Aiwei advice to visit the city's acupuncturist to deal with her stress.
Their actions angered Toph and, not wanting Suyin to go to jail, is forced to tear up her arrest report, to Lin's dismay.
When an angry Opal finally broke up the fight, demanding to know why two sisters would want to hurt each other, Lin passed out from exhaustion, sleeping for the next sixteen hours.
In one of the series' more graphic moments, as P'Li was preparing to knock Lin off the cliff with a blast, Suyin quickly metalbent her plate of armor around the combustion bender's head.
However, she did make one excursion outside the city, to save Suyin and many members of her family, who were imprisoned by the Earth Kingdom dictator, Kuvira.
She along with Korra, Mako, Bolin, Tenzin, Bumi, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, Opal and other airbenders battled a 25-story mecha suit, operated by Kuvira.
Shortly after she and many others attended the wedding and reception party of Varrick and Zhu Li, Lin smiling as the newlyweds kissed.
Two-Toed Ping is arrested and Lin and Mako then interrogate him and are able to find out the name of the new Triple Threats leader, Tokuga.
By grounding herself barefoot, Lin can "see" and "feel" even the most minute seismic vibrations in the earth, be it the presence of trees or the march of ants several meters away.
[25] Lin is highly skilled in Earthbending which utilizes chinese martial arts techniques of Hóng Quán and Chu Gar Nán Pài Tángláng.
Earthbending involves enduring attacks until the right opportunity to counterattack reveals itself, emphasizes "heavily rooted stances and strong blows that evoke the mass and power of earth", and demands precise stepping footwork to maintain constant contact with the ground.
Reviewer David Levesley called Lin one of the series' "standout characters" and one of the show's "many examples of well-written women".
[34] Reviewer Alyssia Rosenberg thought Lin was a "real standout" of the first season for her character arc, feeling it embodied a "small trend" of "female action stars" sacrificing themselves.
[37] Reviewer Michael Mammano viewed Lin's outburst at her mother during the fourth season as being "emotional" and akin to that of an angry child.
[38] Reviewer, Oliver Sava praised the depiction of the "icy" relationship between the character and her mother, noting that it better explained how Lin became "the rigid, chilly person she is today.
Reviewer Gina Luttrell characterized Lin as "psychotic" for relating to Korra after the latter violently expressed her outrage with Mako during their initial break-up.
[42] Zach Blumenfeld of Paste felt that Lin did not bring something new to the "tough cop" archetype, but commended her story arc for "beautifully" portraying the loneliness that a career woman can face.