Legend of Korra: How Lin Beifong Got Her Scars

Like Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lin Beifong also has a scar on her face in The Legend of Korra. Though it was an accident in Lin’s case, both were scarred by family members. The story behind it, however, is very different from Zuko’s issues with Fire Lord Ozai. In The Legend of Korra season 3 we learn a lot about the Beifong family, the Metal Clan, and Lin’s backstory – including how she got her scars.

Lin Beifong was introduced in The Legend of Korra season 1. She’s the Chief of Police of Republic City and the daughter of Toph and a man called Kanto. At first Lin wasn’t that impressed by Korra, but slowly she began to respect the young Avatar, and the two worked together to fight the Equalist movement. Like Toph, Lin is an extremely talented metalbender and, following in her mother’s footsteps, she also joined the elite Metalbending Police Force unit. Lin is strict but loyal and brave, willing to do whatever it takes to help Republic City and fight for what she believes is right.

When Lin was young, Toph was the Chief of Police in Republic City. To avoid making the same mistakes her parents made during her childhood, Toph gave her two daughters all the freedom they wanted, but her absence also made them compete for her attention. To impress and please her, Lin decided to work for the police. However, Suyin, Lin’s half-sister and Toph’s other daughter, took a different path. Suyin was more of a troublemaker, making friends with the Terra Triad and skipping school. Because of their different personalities, the two sisters often clashed.

Since Lin was a police officer and Suyin had no problem helping the Triads, Lin eventually tried to apprehend Suyin. As they faced each other in the streets of Republic City, Lin tried to arrest Suyin by metalbending cables around her sister’s wrists. However, Suyin also was able to metalbend and cut herself free. Tthe cables snapped back and hit Lin on the cheek, permanently scarring her. The two ended up in Toph’s office. Their mother was not pleased by the fight. She decided to send Suyin to live with her grandparents but also destroyed the arrest report Lin wrote to bury the entire thing.

Although the story behind Zuko’s scar is far more tragic, Lin’s injury also had long-term consequences. The incident between the two sisters still affected their relationship years later, with Lin resenting Suyin for avoiding the consequences of her mistakes. She also blamed her for Toph’s retiring a year later from the police force. Eventually, in season 3, they reunited and worked out their issues, but it took a long time for the two sister to talk and forgive each other. Toph’s parenting wasn’t exactly perfect, but she raised two incredibly talented daughters.

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