I feel she probably felt responsible for Su growing up and didn’t really have an adult to rely on, since Toph was kind of neglectful and probably always at work
@@danimolusco if both past and present do collided, imagine how young Toph (from the ATLA) would be guilt ridden for being the worst parents to her future daughters than her actual parents.
When we learn about Lin’s past with her sister, it then makes sense why she’s so jaded with Korra. She acts the exact same way Su did, bending and breaking the rules to do what she wants and justifies a lot of it with “I’m the avatar”, the exact same way Su scoffed at authority cause she was the daughter of the police chief.
@@tomasgonzalezaspe599yes but it's hard to see that when your associations with those traits are there. Lin grew to see that slowly in the episode where amon attacked the pro bending arena
@@-jg9pi yeah I can see why but is still. Lin fault for not seeing the bigger picture, Korra was not Su, if anything Korra had more in common with Lin than her. Considering both are people who bent backwards in trying to please everyone and had it backfire in their face
@@tomasgonzalezaspe599 It's pretty easy to put irresponsible people in a group because they act very similar. She wasn't at fault lol. People aren't to blame for interpreting how you put yourself out there.
I just hate the fact that Suyin got away with all her actions. She basically broke their family, scarred her sister for life and did not even apologize to Lin the next time she saw her. Instead she insults her by bringing up Tensen. They could at least show a redemption arc of how she became who she is but no, she is somehow magically stronger and better than her sister, who is the chief of police.
@@ariesharper2085 yeah she only built a cty with her bending everu day for atleast ten years plus is s dance coach, she definitely isn't gonna be strong.
I might be projecting but as someone who grew up with absent parents I can see why Lin didn’t have kids. Toph sounds like she was emotionally unavailable and the potential fear of turning into a shitty parent varies but is most likely there.
I agree just like there is queer coding in older shows I think Lin is very childfree coded into the show..which eventually was an irreconcilable difference between her and tenzin.
@@meaghancampbell8109 Sadly, that's a very common reason why many otherwise good relationships end in real life, too. Not wanting children is a major deal-breaker for a lot of people, and vice versa. The topic of children is serious and not something you can compromise about; it's either a mutual yes or no, with one or the other giving in, otherwise, due to the permanent consequences, relationship's not going to survive. Can relate as an adamantly childfree individual myself, with a lot of childhood trauma to boot, so it's been impossible to find that special someone who shares the same childfree views. Most of us handle our traumas poorly, and don't want to risk repeating the cycle. Probably what went down here is that, after years of dating (probably living with each other and stuff), Tenzin proposed to Lin with the intention of settling down and starting a family with her, while Lin was afraid of what sort of parent she might be, due to growing up without much stability, and didn't want anything to change between them. It was probably the most painful decision, but for people who do want children, they don't want to be in a relationship that they see as going nowhere. It hurts both ways.
People telling Lin to get over things is kind of insulting, considering that Lin is a police officer, and thus, it's a big part of her job to never forget a crime.
I don't think that's a good angle of criticism, personally. Justice should be reformative, not punitive. That's not the problem here. The show encourages toxic positivity. Lin is the aggrieved party and nobody gave a shat if she came off worse or was hurt by anybody else's behavior. Everybody else gets a second chance, but nobody cares if she's worse off for it.
@@ved2360 i don't think he meant that as a pro-"he jaywalked, 5 years prison and a broken jaw for that" but more as an anti-""live and forgive, that murder of the 12 yo happened a week ago,basically a lifetime ago in the justice system,why do you hold grudges for no reasons?,the criminal already forgot about that already so should you"
But see, it's not the severity of their misdeeds that matter. Toph was just a bad mom and Suyin never took responsibility for hurting Lin. We're not talking about murder or cold cases. They already know what happened and it's between family. Like it'd be one thing if they were dealing with a civil or criminal case between strangers. When you don't get an apology, it kind of just shows that the other party doesn't understand their mistake and doesn't care if they repeat it again to your detriment. If Suyin does something thoughtless to hurt Lin, then what? Mom Toph is either absent or takes Suyin's side. Or Suyin keeps expecting unconditional affection and favors to keep flowing one direction -- never to Lin's benefit. You've _seen_ family dynamics like that before. Or heard about them. Logically, I wouldn't blame Lin for flipping them both the finger and cutting them out of her life. That's exactly Toph's lesson, isn't it? She ditched her parents because they were suffocating her. Why shouldn't Lin do the same? I can't be the only person who saw the moment where Toph expected to kiss and make up only for Lin to bawl them both out and curse a blue streak up and down before storming off. Deadbeat mom doesn't get a vote.
Also the fact that nobody comforts her or even attempted to when she lost her bending is just so sad when katara said she couldn’t return Korras bending people only payed attention to her I honestly doubt that Katara even examined lin during that time period.
I’ve thought of katara using some blind bending to reverse the effects. Sure blood bending g is deadly if in the wrong hands but imagine using blood bending for medical uses. I can
@@the-nina-beans88 i always found it weird it was called “blood ending.” Blood is primarily minerals like iron and potassium, so theoretically only earth benders could actually bend blood.
As someone who was cheated on after 17 years, of knowing my partner, this cut deep. She wanted to stay friends and just "move on, because it upset her" after a few weeks. Then the people around her supported her, and made me feel gaslighted into thinking I was wrong for being so angry and bitter. Ive had so many bad things happen in my life, I could make a book. But ill just say I really understood her bitterness and jadedness. You have to be that way, because the only other option is to cry. Instead you just keep trying to press forward.
Six months ago I learned that the sa that I experienced and kept secret from my mother because I didn't want to hurt her she knew about the entire time, no apology. I was called unreasonable, and mean by my whole family. I had to be there to support everyone and whenever I protested I was just being angry. I really, and unfortunately completely understand Lin. And I wished they showed her more compassion.
In the original Avatar series the idea that “when someone in your family makes you feel unvalued, getting away from them can be the best thing for everyone involved.” Comes up multiple times. It feels really off that they take such a “you gotta get over it. They’re your family.” Tone with Lin’s arc.
I’d argue it’s because that’s how you treat kids on the subject vs adults. If kids want to get away from their parents it’s because “they’re abusive” or something like that. Whereas when you’re an adult and choose to cut people out of your life, people are like “oh you’re an adult you should learn to forgive them”.
Even cabbage man has a good ending, he became one of the richest people in the world. Also when it comes to tenzin's relationship, I vaguely remember a scene where his wife mentions that she wanted to be with him whole he was in a relationship and put effort into getting him, so I think the break up was probably a messy one.
yeah, i remember after korra teared up mako's desk at the station, she said something along the lines of 'well you should've seen air temple island when tenzin broke up with me' lmao. definitely a messy break up XD
@@psychospeech6189Lin wasn’t willing to *after Tenzin broke up with her.* Remember, his whole focus on having a family is to *rebuild the air nomads.* By rejecting Lin (from what Pama was saying, sounds like by cheating) that’s like denouncing her as ‘Not Worthy To Be A Mother.’ That’s traumatic as hell. Plus, again, the betrayal, among other traumas she encountered in her life, of course she wasn’t willing to put herself out there and eventually have a child.
@Norinia I don't know if that happened before Tenzin's break up..because I can definitely see Pemma getting with Tenzin because of Lin's reluctance to be a Mom. Rather than Tenzin going with Pemma and just tossing Lin like that. Tenzin even admits that they were having different goals and thoughts on life much before he met Pema, I also don't think Tenzin's gonna cheat.
@@psychospeech6189 Lin doesn't want to inflict the same pain she had if she have a child, she also loved Tenzin as she respect his decision. However Tenzin back then are a bit of rash and desperate like how Aang did during his life as a parent, the Air Nomads never had a chance to become a parent because they had to let go their children to be trained as an airbender once they born, Aang himself are a little bit at lost when he become a parent and desperate to trained Tenzin when he become an airbender. Lin decision to never had kids are also the same reason why she broke off with Tenzin as he is desperate and a little bit reckless which worries Lin as Tenzin action are similar to her mother did. She afraid if she has a child with Tenzin and Tenzin never act like a father and instead forcing their child to become an Air Nomads, it would bringing more stress and trauma to herself.
The worst part of her relationship with Toph and Su is that is I remember correctly its Lin the one that ends up apologizing to them? Or smth like that. Also like so many characters take Lin for granted. Bcs at the end of the day she always is there in any way she can, even when others think she is being too bitter and unreasonable, she's there.
Yeah One way or another,both the people around her and the fandom (at least the part of the fandom that loves Suyin and Toph too much) forced Lin to apologize to the people who abused her That's like telling a guy who got shot to apologize to the shooter or telling a bank to apologize to a bank robber for having "so much money that it was easy to steal" It reeks of victim-blaming and Lin being coerced into apologizing to Suyin made me quit the show entirely
@@DragonGoddess18 wait people actually like suyin? I was still upset she never apologized for everything she did as a teen with the robbery and scarring her sister and she as gotten no punishment
@@darriongeorge5137 They're plenty of people who felt emboldened by Suyin or just like her sassiness I saw videos that praised her as "THE BEST CHARACTER EVER!" (paraphrasing the title) Wanna like the character? Fine. I have personal code when it comes to liking characters, especially ones who are bad people (regardless if they're the protagonist or antagonist): It's ok to like said character but you should be careful how you express your opinion on said character. Even if you don't mean to, there's a chance that what you say could constitute as enabling.
Even when she reconciles with Su & later Toph, we never hear either of them give any kind of outward or verbal apology (or the only other possibility is that they both tried to reach out & apologise during their 30 year estrangement but Lin wouldn’t accept it) yeah they admitted their mistakes but they never make statements of promising to make up for them & never making Lin feel like that again (seriously, did Su ever apologise for physically SCARRING her own sister?! I know she did it by accident but still!) Apologies can come in many forms, not just by saying sorry aloud (although it is the most common way) but by saying you feel bad & regret what you did, that you want to make up for it & be better - all these things (at least to me) indicate that someone is sorry & wants to be a better friend or family to you. I just wish we got a more clear indication from Lin’s family than just “I’m a different person now.” or “I messed up.”
I would be more forgiving of That whole arc if it wasn’t entirely from Lin’s POV. They go into deep detail about how it affected her, and then act like she’s just gotta let it go. Does she? Maybe if it was split up between Lin’s POV as well as Su’s. Show us Su’s progression. Show us Su really trying for years to make things up for what she’s done. THEN I might be inclined to believe that the problem is that Lin isn’t trying to heal. As the story is, it makes it look like they’re trying to say “Get over your trauma because family DESERVES that forgiveness whether they put in the effort or not.” Which is crazy because a big part of The OG Avatar is “sometimes getting away from a family that doesn’t make you feel valued is the best thing for everyone involved.”
Irony is Lin was alone and all her relationships failed but she became a very strong mother like figure to team Korra unintentionally. She was always looking out for them always had their best interest in mind and would even sometimes personally go out of her way to protect them even when it was against her job. Her love for job the only actual good relationship she had ended up giving her more connections than before.
For me, Lin was the most sympathetic character in this. As the oldest child in my family I had to deal with some pretty similar family stuff. My little brother and I even have the same dynamic Lin and Su did. I was the good kid and my brother acted out a lot. That led to a lot of problems in the family, problems that I don’t believe were ever resolved. But apparently my mom doesn’t see it that way. My mom on several occasions has tried to convince me to let it go. And she once tried to gaslight me into believing that it was somehow my fault my brother acted out, that I wasn’t a good brother to him. Okay maybe that’s not what she intended to do, but it sure felt like it. And it was completely below the belt. I will concede that there were some problems in her life that were of her own making. Like for instance, if she had been more open to the idea of having kids, then maybe she could have gotten her happily ever after with Tenzin. She pretty much decided she valued her career over having a family with Tenzin, and if she has any regrets about that then that’s on her. You can’t eat your cake and have it too. That being said, I still completely sympathize with Lin. All she really wanted was for her mom and sister to take responsibility and apologize. But the fact they weren’t willing to do that for her just goes to show how toxic they are.
you're right but your comment about "if she had been more open to the idea of having kids, then maybe she could have gotten her happily ever after with Tenzin" obviously i know Tenzin needed children to ensure the survival of airbenders and airbending culture but the wording makes it seem like it's just an easy obstacle to get over 💀💀 it's less of a problem she brought on herself and more of plain bad luck and incompatibility
@@areeba7045 Lin also may of been afraid to repeat the mistakes that Toph made with her really. When you are in a dysfunctional family situation like that and get out of it I think its normal for a lot of people to be afraid of being a parent as they fear that they'll be a bad one. Also, two generations of Beifongs at that point were not really good parents. Toph's parents were extremely overprotective but also neglectful and emotionally abusive to the point that she ran away. Toph unfortunately overcorrected from that and also likely had no clue how the fuck to even handle parenting considering her parents were horrible at it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed and was bothered by the fact that Tenzin immediately dumped her when Pema confessed her love to an older man who was, you know, already in a relationship with someone else? (Note, sorry for the length I tried to make it shorter lols) 2 angles to that; If Tenzin was so unhappy with his incompatible relationship, he should have had the balls to have a healthy, adult conversation about it and break up amicably instead of letting it drag on for no reason. And Pema was just as immature about it if not worse. At best, she was so young and dumb that she thought Tenzin's difficulties was an okay time to do what she did without issue, at worst, she noticed the cracks in their relationship and took full advantage of it for her own gain, not caring about the home-wrecking hurt she would cause. Either way, Tenzin and Pema deserve each other. They were both too immature for a real adult relationship while poor Lin gets left in the dust.
THAT! Tenzin only left Lin when a younger girl appeared and told him she wanted to give him babies. He could end his relation with Lin years earlier if he wasn't happy. But no, let's wait for the replacement product before throwing the old one...
I suspect it was more than that. Toph probably looked forward to her family’s Union with the House of Twinkle Toes. Aang had to have been happy about it too. And I suspect both Tenzin and Lin felt that pressure.
Lin married her career. And I think she's happy in that. Her mother may not have cared about her legacy as chief of police, but Lin does. Other people may not care about right and wrong, but Lin does. I think we just don't see the happy points in Lin's life. We don't see cops she mentored doing well because of her mentorship, and her taking pride in it. We don't see the time she and Tenzin were happy before the problem of him having to have children to ensure the continuation of the avatar cycle forced them apart. We can even see how they are temperamentally well suited to each other. we don't see Lin being the hero because Korra and crew have to be bigger heroes. We don't see her praised for her rare skill at metal bending, which should still be limited to only a few people because all the police metal bend, and she's always surrounded by them. But the fact that we don't see any of these things doesn't mean that they don't happen. I would kind of like to hear that Lin becomes a sage when she retires as she's already spent most of her life along in meditation. I would like to see lin when she gets an actual vacation.
Sis you gotta stop huffing that copium. Ppl who "marry their careers" are usually very unhappy and unfulfilled individuals who use their jobs to distract them from their greater reality. She's irrate and acts like she has a chip on her shoulder. Based on what she did to Air Temple Island we know that Tenzin breaking up with her cut her deep and we can conclude that she does want an exclusive relationship. And don't get me started on her family issues. Does she have anyone to call her own or be an emotional pillar for her? Didnt think so.
The one thing I disagree with is that we don't see her be a hero, bc we absolutely do. She saves Korra's life multiple times, she is an absolute badass and she knows it.
@@678fireplaceNot everone cares about human connection, some people prefer living a solitary life and Lin very clearly is not a people person. She avoids that like cats avoid water.
They don’t say it out right but i got serious parentification vibes from Lin and Su when they were growing up. It is not uncommon for people who where parentified as children to not want to become parents later on. Lin already raised a kid.
@@danimolusco the parentification also explains why Lin and Toph had a hard time reconciling. Lin wanted her mom to be a mom not to rase herself and her sister. She also wanted a dad. And Toph was kind of a jerk about in that scene.
funnily enough, i think the /one good thing that has happened to lin comes at the hand of someone who also gone through some shit and takes a bunch of L's: mako. i really adore her and mako's mentor/mentee relationship a lot and i think it's cute how mako is one of the closest to her. like if anyone else but mako grabbed her arms and shook her in distress the way mako does in book 4 after it's announced he has to work for wu longer, they probably would've been catapulted ten feet away with the cable while mako just gets a 'well tough luck kid, i can't do anything about it,' lol
This could very well also be Mako. Both parents dead, unresolved emotional trauma, possible neurodivergence, stunted emotional development, a near-death experience of the explosive variety AND a thankless job with no prospects of landing him a decent place in history. That and he made his exes turn gay for each other. Man just can't get a break.
Buhay pa si Toph lol I think Mako and Katara share a lot of similarities and if only the show gave more backstory and character motivation to the Avatar's friends, Mako could have had a "The Southern Raiders" episode for his character where he, as a police/detective, randomly crossed path with the firebender who killed his parents then can't find enough evidence to put that murderer into prison. A test of his character and a challenge to his worldview.
Another sad aspect is Korra asking Pema how her and Tenzin ended up together and her story being presented as something cute, completely overshadowing what Lin felt in this whole situation. She had a serious job and probably was expected to deny her feelings for the safety of the people she is protecting. and the father aspect feels even more hurtful when you realize she asked Toph for decades who her father is, but the one who asked the question and got an answer wasn't even her. She must have felt ignored throughout her life
I always wanted to give Lin a hug because I felt she needed one, but she doesn't seem like the type that would be comfortable with that kind of affection and that in itself might be caused by her shit life. Mom isn't affectionate, Tinzen was but left, no dad or anyone to show her the unconditional love she needed not even her sister because that was very conditional.
Toph's parenting style is one of the portrayals I find most accurate until she bends the rules because it would make her look bad as chief of police, there are a lot of reasons why she would cover it up but "my reputation!" isn't one of them.
@NeyamRye exactly, he would've loved taking them all on those trips, he probably would've taken Toph's kids if she'd let him, why would he ever leave any kid out when air benders were running the very real risk of extinction
@@luisvelez1952 Lins scar is nowhere near as bad as Zukos. Zukos got almost half his face burned while Lin only as a faded slash mark across her cheek and has still retained her beauty.
Bro i love this video Lin Beifong is very underrated a woman with honor and good morals honestly she's my favorite beifong. I hate how people justify Suyin's actions to her and anyone else. Here's the thing i think Suyin is objectively a interesting character. But i feel no one realize she's possibly the worst Beifong of all time. Like Lao Toph's Dad being restrictive of Toph was wrong, Toph was crazy not to mention to her kids their dads or not punish Suyin was awful parenting. But Suyin is an ASSHOLE in every position of her family she's in. As a daughter doesn't respects her mom's job so became a getaway driver for criminals. As a sister didn't respect Lin's job either, gave Lin a literal scar, and didn't apologize for breaking the law or scaring her sister's face ever but said as a kid "this is all your fault" to Lin. And went Lin didn't accept her bullshit apology 30 years ago " i admit i wasn't a perfect kid but i have changed" she later said No wonder Tenzin broke off things with you years ago" Petty Woman. And as a mom i heard not sure of that she made Opal feel left out a non bender however still did a terrible job a parenting with allowing Kuvira into the family with no one's consent including her husband, let Opal having toxic sisterhood with Kuvira, and let Bataar her eldest son support Kuvira and have a romantic relationship with his stepsister(incest), And told Bataar it was ok to team up with Kuvira and not arrest him with her. With all of that i say FUCK YOU SUYIN.
With Bataar he avoided prison due the fact that information he gave that were crucial to defeat of Kuvira and meet with lighter punishment of house arrest with limited time outside of his familly house and not being able to leave a city again.
I've only watched videos of ATLA and the Legend of Korra. But I will eventually watch the shows I hope. I feel so much for Lin and finding out in the comments that she is the one who apologizes to Toph and Suyin just makes me irritated. I would have never forgiven them because they both broke the law because of family.
Honestly it makes sense for Tenzin and Lin to not get together with all the facts of Lin not seemingly wanting children and being very career driven and Tenzin wanting children and having them raised in an air nomad environment which is exactly what Pema could provide (being an acolyte and all that) but it's nice they become friends. However there is no excuse for her family to treat her so badly, she deserved every apology and I wouldn't mind if Lin decided to keep them permanently cut out of her life, it's not a great message to have her accept their wrongdoings, especially since so many people go through similar household situations.
I somehow laughed when one of Tenzin's kids called her "Our Dad's Ex GF (I forgot who said it)" when they were trying to save her. But in that case, I still thought that was low given that she's just doing her job. Lesson: Never let your kids meet your exes.
Lin's reunion with Su at Zaofu actually made me hate Korra. After she called Lin a bitter old woman while knowing full well that her family situation was super complicated, I couldn't like her. I genuinely wish Lin responded with "I became even more bitter when you were born", just to get the last word in, and let Korra know that she'd never be closer to Lin than Aang was.
I can see why Korra did it. She’s a 17 year old girl who knew one side of the story. She thought she was helping Opal who really wanted to have a relationship with her aunt. BUT looking at the situation as a whole, Opal and Korra really put Lin on the spot. Lin wasn’t ready to talk to Opal and her only options were to either sacrifice her own boundaries by lying and letting Opal in when she wasn’t emotionally ready for that, or come across as the bad guy for rejecting Opal who doesn’t understand her whole situation
But you have to see the context. Lin's Granddaughter Opal who has absolutely no responsibility for everything her mom Suyin messed up, got treated extremely bad, distanced and straight up mean by Lin, which is just unfair. It's not Opals fault that Suyin treated Lin badly in the past, so I get where Korra was coming from. Korra was just trying to do Opal a favor and help her to communicate/connect with her aunt Lin, because that's the only thing Opal wanted from Lin.
@@anni1348 Did Suyin never tell her daughter why Lin never visited, or sent letters, or try to contact any of them? Opal would have understood if she was told what happened between her aunt and her mother, because she experienced a similar conflict with Kuvira. Suyin should've owned up to her mistake instead of letting Opal have high hopes that Lin would be happy to be in life. And Korra knew Lin for a fair amount of time to realize that she's been given a bad hand in her life, and instead of trying to sympathize, she insults her.
@@ICantRecognizeCelebrities I know this is from a year ago but Opal absolutely didn't deserve the ire and bitterness from Lin regardless of how justifiably angry she is at her mother. That's projection, and it's not healthy even if you do "understand" where it's coming from.
THANK YOU!! This bothered me so much! The fact that all of this is not hidden in the show but also never resolved and she's never given respect bothers me SO much!
When I first watched the show it seemed to me that Lin always got the short end of the stick in every area of her life but I didn’t really take it to heart. I took it more like they played up her bad luck for comic effect the same way they always gave the cabbage salesman bad luck. I also found a funny irony in that she didn’t want kids but kind of ended up being like the mama duck of the group anyway.
Yeah I was a bit annoyed that they got on her case for holding a grudge too. Suyin might have changed but it was unreasonable to expect her sister to just let go. I think they did mention that Suyin tried to reach out to her sister before but yeah. I will say it wasn't fair for Lin to blow up Suyin's kids though who had literally nothing to do with what her sister or her mother did to her.
That's a fair reading; Suyin didn't wholly change (she sheltered VARRICK after all), but running a city does require maturity and she does seem to have been a mature parent at the least. That said, I'd have preferred if Suyin did apologize for scarring Lin and being a brat.
Lin deserved so much better. That's one of the reasons I love fanfiction so much, because yes, at the start I loved reading korrasami fanfic just to see how people would actually develop their relationship throughout the series, but Lin just always struck a chord with me. She deserved so þuch better and holy shit there are fanfics out there. The one I'm reading at the moment is of the POV of an OC who's Lin's (future) love interest, but it has both of them dealing with trauma, from Amon and also their childhoods etc. It actually gives Lin character growth and shows you how she feels (or might feel, according to the author) about everything that happened in the past. I just love deep diving into a character's mind through someone (or multiple someone) else's mind. But, seriously, Lin deserved so much better.
I love everything about Lin. I love that she's a hardass, i love that she was right all along, i love that she refused to forgive just because THEY needed it, and i love that she chose to forgive because it's what SHE needed, and it really was. Doesn't mean her story couldn't have been done better, clearly it could have, but for what she gets... I love her dearly with all my heart. Lin Beifong is a queen 👑
Toph became a hermit which basically means she stopped parenting. This really shows with how Lin ended up being parentified, and Suyin ended up becoming an undisciplined brat because no real parental figures.
I never thought about Kyalin before, but it makes sense to me! Lin's story hits too close to home for me in many aspects, this is why I was never able to get into LoK. Maybe headcannoning that she finds happiness in a genuine loving connection will get me to finish the series.
Thank god someone is finally saying this. I've never thought Legend of Korra measured up to A:TLA, and their writing of Lin Beifong was one of the major reasons why I didn't really get into it.
Lin was treated like a red haired stepchild. Lin was among the only level headed people in LoK, yet she got the short end of the stick for no good reason.
It would really be painful if Lin and Tenzin broke up over the issue of having children. Like, I can honestly see them working through that if Tenzin didn't HAVE to have kids, but he really didn't have a choice on that front. As one of and then THE last airbender in the world he really had to have kids, and the more the better, no matter if he really wanted to or not.
There are so many double standers for the Gaang as parents, the fans hate that Aang isn't a good dad even tho that's just apart of his culture but for Toph it's okay? Not say you are saying that but that's the oppions I get from most fans
nah i don't think this is that good of a read, it's moreso fans expected the good little kid they projected onto when they were kids themselves to always be a perfectly, good protagonist and the fact that aang, like any character, has some flaws affected their self-perception more than they'd like to admit so the pushback for aang perhaps emotionally neglecting his non-airbender children came to be (and that's all this is! he wasn't a bad father or an absent father at all, nor do his kids think that as well. bumi and kya were simply upset that tenzin couldn't see where they were coming from). on the other hand, i don't think anyone expected toph to be a standout parent given her temperament and own home life. i have never seen a single fan claim toph was a good mother to her children, but the pushback for her characterization is less bc it doesn't affect fans as much since it's what they expected in the first place.
There are major differences between Aang and Toph. Toph had two children by DIFFERENT FATHERS and what was worse was that they never knew their fathers. On top of that they had absolute freedom to do what they wanted. That is a recipe for disaster. Aang and Katara were slightly better parents. Katara was definitely a good mother. Aang being the Avatar meant traveling the world to maintain peace and balance made him preoccupied. He spent a lot of time on Tenzin but neglected the other two children. Aang definitely wasn't perfect but he did a slightly better job than Toph.
Lynn is a person that cares a lot, looks for resolution from things and people how has as much apathy as complete strangers. Sometimes people do terrible things realize it’s terrible but still do not regret it Air quotes it made them who they are😒. This reminds me of a quote from an anime with one character who hates the trope of the bad kid who turned their life around like Lynn’s sister. The person who turns their life around gets far more prays then the person who consistently does the right thing from the very beginning and that pisses her off😤
Princess Yue had an arguably equally crumby life: Raised in a sexist nation with the express knowledge that she was a political tool for the purpose of marrying a man and giving birth to his child; she is then finally put in a situation where she had no practical option other than to give up her life to save the world before even reaching true adulthood. Jet had a rather bitter life all things considered: Except for just prior to his parents' deaths, his entire life was dedicated near-solely to the purpose of revenge; he finally got a taste of a better life, but it was all cut short mere days after he finally had a chance - and a false one, at that - at a safe, secure life. Amon actually had a comparably bad life too: His father was not only emotionally neglectful, he was mentally, emotionally and physically abusive to boot; Amon eventually sees all benders as evil (himself likely included) and opts to take all bending from everyone, only to have his own brother kill them both right when he thought they could work at rebuilding their relationship (even if it was as partners in crime/anti-bender-terrorism).
I think she should do what her mom and sister did. Retire early and go travel the world and find what will make her truly happy and fulfilled. Maybe even try looking up her father and his family, get to know them, and build new relationships.
I love the fact that Toph was a bad mother; it is realistic. I just love it. I am tired of parents especially main characters who eventually become parents themselves, always being down to earth 100 percent of the time all the time while antagonists always have bastard parents blah blah blah; I’m sick of it. I love that Toph was not good at parenting.
It shows how people are not perfect. Considering how immature Toph was as a teenager and how bad her relationship with her parents was and how stubborn of a woman Toph is, it is really no surprise.
I'm more surprised at the direction they took. If anything, I would've expected Toph to be the kind of parent who treats you like their friend instead of their child. Although if I'm being honest, I feel like it would've been more realistic for Toph to not have kids. Toph doesn't strike me as the kind of person who'd even want a relationship, let alone have kids.
In terms of writing, I’ll never forgive who let all this happen to Lin and didn’t even really give her the proper storyline befitting the background given unto her character. The hardships she undergoes shouldn’t have fallen to way side, it should’ve ended with more acknowledgment- any catharsis she can find after AND ONLY after her mother and sister at least apologize or say specifically who hurt instead of leaving it all vague and in the past. There’s clearly a victim here or at least a person who was consistently given the short end of the stick in life with no reprieve. And it’s Lin.
A while ago, I had a story idea where Lin had a son. Given her upbringing, Lin was obsessed with making him into her image. And after realizing just how unfairly his extended family treated his mother, he in turn was obsessed with living up to her expectaions. Eventually, Lin learns some key lessons: -That her son shouldn't inherit her grudges. Even if justified, their resentment would only embitter both of them. -That he'd likely destroy himself trying to live up to her dreams, if she lets him. -And most of all, that there's true happiness to be found in being a mother, independent of everything else. *sigh* I should be writing.
I don't know man, I feel like Jet (watched his home burn as a child, an experience that clearly radicalized him and just when he sees the light and is turning things around, sees that firebenders are infiltrating ba sing sa, tries to expose them, only to get arrested, brainwashed and eventually killed for his troubles all while he's still a teenager) or Azula (viewed as a monster by her mother, a pawn of her father's war, a perfectionist who suffers an absolute mental breakdown at the age of 14 after losing her entire support unit, something that we still haven't seen her fully recover from) are far more tragic than Lin
Well he did say that we would cover legend of korra for this video specifically. Also while Jet and Azula's stories are tragic, Lin's is heartbreaking in a realistic way. Many people walking around in the real world have experienced the same or comparable family dynamics as talked about in this video. And it impacts the viewer in a way that Jet's and Azula's very specific scenarios might not.
This is not an dumb competition about who"s suffering more because then we could put Katara (got her mom killed and was forced to throw away her entire childhood and become an adult of her village), Korra (has literally PTSD, grew up training to be an avatar just to learn that she has no purpose outside of that) and Aang (got his culture and loved ones erased by a war he blames himself for) within this ridiculous list as well. Like it doesn't undo anything that Lin went through as character. She still had an messy childhood with an emotionally unavailable parent, grew up with no father and has been being gaslighted/perceived as the bad guy by her own Sister/mother through out her whole life. And her partner probably cheated on her with someone else. To be honest, Lins Situation is much closer to real life than anything Azula or Jet ever experienced, because they went through very specific situations.
@@anni1348yes cuz young children in war-torn countries being obsessed with vengeance definitely doesn't happen. Not in the enlightned inclusive and progressive 21st century. So unrealistic
I always thought it was the "children" issue that broke them up, but I always felt it was a calculated move by Tenzin. He couldn't risk having earthbender children like Aang had a waterbending daughter, so he went with a nonbender to reproduce with. I know it sounds cold, but he did have the fate of an entire peoples on his head. What if he didn't have any air bending children? What then? No more Air Nomads? Rewatch Korra and really analyze Tenzin with Pema and him around Lin. In my opinion he may love Pema but I don't think he is "in love" with her. As for Lin he clearly has feelings for her even though he would never act on them. Also in my opinion. Lin being alone is more of a... refusal of being with someone if she is not in love with them, and she clearly has unresolved feelings for Tenzin. The whole thing is rather tragic in my mind.
Toph wanted to give freedom to her daughters because she doesn't like her parents overprotectiveness. Instead she accidently create another Toph with a tough, cold and detached Lin. Toph doesn't understand about love and caring to her own family so she just leave them be while she just focused on her career to the point Lin wishes to follow her mother footstep while nurturing the same attitude and personality of her mother for herself. Toph also at fault as she always keeping secrets from her kids including the fathers of her children and her tough uncaring attitude accompanied with no responsibility to her family is the reason why the whole family once broken, cannot be repaired anymore even with her grandchildren wanted to reconnect with their grandmother. Just because she wanted to be left alone in the swamp doesn't mean she can forever cut herself away from the mistake she should take responsibility off as she must faced the problem head on.
Would have loved if the show would have been about a character like her ngl, an older main character than korra in general since a lot of the ATLA fans would have grown up by the point korra released as well. Would have been cool if the series continued growing with us. But it is what it is.
I think it's a good example of how bad of a parent, Toph was, as she just allowed Suyin to get away with everything (particularly with her being a literal criminal). Su literally gets away with her actions by being sent to live with her wealthy grandparents and suffers no consequences for actions, while Lin gets permanently scarred on her face, and gets scolded by Toph for arresting Su.
3:30-4:02 hits deep for me. It’s the same with my family. I cannot forget the things they’ve said and done to me since they just expect me to get over it. I rarely hear the word «sorry»
Ye Lin had a shit time. As you say, it’s not that she had the worst experiences, it’s just that she never has a happy ending or even resolved the bad experiences. On top of that she just gets told it’s *her* problem for being angry about it 😂
This is how families typically are: the mother always forces everyone else to keep coddling and forgiving the drug addict, the thief, the delinquent younger child in the family, while the responsible older child is always put upon to redistribute their successes, their wealth, their birthright to inheritance back to the delinquent sibling because “they’ve had a hard life”. I wanted to see Lin lock Su up against Toph’s orders, and hand the case file to someone outside the family, fairly declaring a “conflict of interest”. Then, have Lin quit the police force and go on her own personal spiritual journey to find meaning. Lin and Tenzin could’ve been nice, but honestly, her and Bumi would make a lot more sense. Additionally, how much of Kuvira’s nonsense would’ve been stopped dead with Lin as an adoptive mother?
My headcanon is that lyn is unable to have children because in the accident that scarred her she also resulted in an abdominal injury and that's why they broke up. So her sister caused her to become infertile and cost her relationship with tenzen
My headcanon is that she’s just infertile it’s not uncommon. The injury is a stretch. Or maybe she just kept telling tenzin she wasn’t ready and tenzin was not tryna wait and liked Pema who was younger anyway
@@Jrskeetpro Not really; he loves his kids, but makes mistakes and even those make sense (he has to rebuild a destroyed culture and keep peace in a world recovering from a devastating war). Compared to say Jonas Venture Sr from the Venture Bros or Mallory Archer from Archer and Aang's pretty good.
I think one of the reasons Tenzin didn't marry Lin is their kids would be either earth benders or air benders. 50/50 with a slight chance that some of them might be a non bender like Bumi. And Tenzin needed them all to be air benders as mush as possible. So he married a non bender girl. Ofc it's mean thinking but it's kinda realistic of you think of it. And yeah talking of Bumi. I really really wished Lin and Bumi would end up together. Cause they are so total opposites😂. And they would be such hilarious couple. And Bumi would make laugh her serious face every day😅. And they were at their late young years physically. I'm sure they were capable of having kids. That would be a way to set things right with of these characters with sad stories. Cause Bumi's story is also sad if you remember
I felt it the entore show, her dedications, her sacrafices, everything she did was undermined or or screwed over the entire show, nomatter how much she sacrifices and how hard she tries, a lot of it amounts to her being fucked over. Shes literally my favorite character because she remains good, and she keeps on giving and trying even when people dog on her or continue to undermine her.
Lin: Tragically scarred for life both physically and mentally by family, never catching a break, quite possibly unable to live a peaceful life at this point. Suyin: Got away with crime, builds whole new city, has kids, leads a happy life, likely never told anyone about her criminal past, makes her lawful sister look like the worst family member for 30 years, is somehow stronger than Lin, "by the way, did I tell you all how much of an absolute [big no word] my sister is?" never *ONCE* properly apologizes to Lin.
By the end of the series, Mako must've been like the son she never wanted but probably needed. I wish something got fleshed out more between those two.
Actually, sue did apologise. She did it at the end of old wounds. Also I remember running into this guys years ago who somewhat teased me at school, yet as adults he was actually quite likeable. It might depend, but I find it's better to forgive someone who wronged you in the past than forever holding a grudge. Also, gaslighting is when you make someone question their perception of reality or decision making in order to control them, NOT when you're trying to make them see your point of view when you're convinced it's the right one
So someone giving you a personal scar by disrespecting your morals doesn't make it ok for you to be angry with them? Especially when i heard Suyin said No wonder Tenzin broke things off with you years ago before her battle vs Lin.
The way they dealt with Lin’s story was probably one of the biggest things that turned me off from enjoying the show. It really felt like the writers were saying this sort of treatment is ok. Could you imagine if Iroh told Zuko to stop complaining and forget about his trauma. He’d come off as the biggest quack and that’s what It feels like the writers of this show are.
I agree, because when Lin sacrificed herself to let Tenzin and his family escape, I felt bad for her. Also, not to mention the time when her bending was taken away, and everytime she got electrocuted or badly injured by enemies. I felt sad, but atleast she's a badass and survived!!
I feel for Lin because she had no emotional support, even when doing the right thing, from her mother, didn't know anything about her father, got a permanent scar from her sister who was driving criminals away from a robbery. Then after that, her sister gets sent away with no consequences, and her mother (her idol) soon retires and leaves every to her because of the incident. Lin's sister and Toph should have went to Lin instead of just sending an invitation.
Has anyone stopped to consider that it wasnt because she didnt want kids, but she couldnt have kids? Yea. I can see Lin being opposed to having children, but I think when she was with Tenzin, she understood why it was so vital that he have children. So maybe she wasn't thrilled about the idea, but tried anyway only to find out she can't. That would only make Tenzin leaving her behind that much worse
On one hand, as older sister I understand horribly Lin’s side. But I’ll make a case of why letting go was a good choice for Lin, not because of her family but for herself. When you spend years expecting something you are not going your way be given, one grows even more sour. I am not saying she should just go back to them as if nothing happened but move on from that and leave it behind takes that burden out of your soul. Yeah, she is not getting an apology and by no longer expecting one, she can heal from that. It’s not about Toph and Seuyin , it’s about her and the pain in her past that she needs to let go so she can live her present as she seems fit regardless of what her family thinks or does.
To this day i still do not like Su. I will never get over it and i will never forgive Toph for it 🤷🏽♀️. Lin deserved the absolute best, she was always going above and beyond for people and it felt like no one did the same for her. Her having to apologize to Su and Toph MAKES me sick, to this day! Lin was real and valid in her feelings and everyone is just teehee move on. Su got a slap on the wrist and a shiny metal kingdom, and Lin got a scar she’ll see in every reflection
i seriously mean this when i say the bolin asami mako subplots were a big waste and could have been used to add more to literally any of the gaangs children call me bias but unironically korras friends who we waste so much time on learning about their shallow lives and personalities and i’m including all even asami, even tho she had the most potential the creators couldn’t give a single fuck about her character looking at the comics and seeing how they use her for love triangle bait involving our protagonist for the second time. Quite literally any time a episode cut to a subplot of the gaangs children you best believe it was rated well a big part of season 3 success goes to the amazing b plots of the gaangs kids especially tenzin and lin.
Noatak and Tarlok are pretty tragic. Also, some people have the impression that Suyin is a better bender than Lin, she probably isn't that much better, especially not a combat. In the fight the two had, Lin was not in fighting shape. Lin is someone who works a job that has a lot of fighting (and a lot of paperwork). Suyin has a job that doesn't have a lot of fighting (and probably a bit less paperwork).
Lin never had a father and the question about his name was answerd years later for someone else, got two permanent scars in her face she could got hit in the eye or eyes and make her blinde she could get hit on they head and make her go in a coma or dead she could get hit on the throut and died from her own sister and the Police didnt punish her she was told by her mother to not talk about this for the family name and years later the sister and mother are angry becous she is still angry. Korra is just like Lins sister she breaks the law all the time and doesnt get punished. And why does Korras dad hates his Brother the backstory i remember is Korras dad and his friends want to fight a spirit the brother tells them not to but they ignor him try to fight the spirit and lose some died then Korras dad got punished by banishing him and the brother became the Chef and he hates his brother and not himself . Do i remember it wrong? Or is Korra a bitch becaus of her Father?
I like to think of her as the Malory Archer of the crew. Korra: I prefer to keep my dating life private! Lin: Please, there's been more pens on that company ink then a...a pen store.
Lin may have one of the most tragic backstories (I still think Kuvira also had one), but not of the whole franchise. In ATLA Azula wins (in general, both franchises) hands down.
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Sometimes I wonder the reasons why Lin is the way she is is because Toph doesn’t realize she has become even the worst parent than her actual parents.
And a worst parent than Aang
I feel she probably felt responsible for Su growing up and didn’t really have an adult to rely on, since Toph was kind of neglectful and probably always at work
@@danimolusco if both past and present do collided, imagine how young Toph (from the ATLA) would be guilt ridden for being the worst parents to her future daughters than her actual parents.
@@a.jthomas6132
Toph would have changed like Scott did after meeting his future self.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
@@joshuahecht6866 My thoughts exactly. And Azula would have changed too after meeting the Elder Zuko.
When we learn about Lin’s past with her sister, it then makes sense why she’s so jaded with Korra. She acts the exact same way Su did, bending and breaking the rules to do what she wants and justifies a lot of it with “I’m the avatar”, the exact same way Su scoffed at authority cause she was the daughter of the police chief.
The difference was that korra had good intentions, while su was just a brat
@@tomasgonzalezaspe599yes but it's hard to see that when your associations with those traits are there. Lin grew to see that slowly in the episode where amon attacked the pro bending arena
@@-jg9pi yeah I can see why but is still. Lin fault for not seeing the bigger picture, Korra was not Su, if anything Korra had more in common with Lin than her. Considering both are people who bent backwards in trying to please everyone and had it backfire in their face
@@tomasgonzalezaspe599 It's pretty easy to put irresponsible people in a group because they act very similar. She wasn't at fault lol. People aren't to blame for interpreting how you put yourself out there.
@@tomasgonzalezaspe599so Korra’s pretty much like a combination between the sisters basically
I just hate the fact that Suyin got away with all her actions. She basically broke their family, scarred her sister for life and did not even apologize to Lin the next time she saw her. Instead she insults her by bringing up Tensen. They could at least show a redemption arc of how she became who she is but no, she is somehow magically stronger and better than her sister, who is the chief of police.
i fucking hate su
Pi$$es me off how she is somehow stronger than Lin even though lin’s career is extremely physical demanding
@@ariesharper2085 yeah she only built a cty with her bending everu day for atleast ten years plus is s dance coach, she definitely isn't gonna be strong.
It is said that Lin was weaker because of her instability by the memories of her trauma, and that she's stronger than Suyin
@@chordsofsteel-i4jnot like fighting fucking criminals for more than 10 years
I might be projecting but as someone who grew up with absent parents I can see why Lin didn’t have kids. Toph sounds like she was emotionally unavailable and the potential fear of turning into a shitty parent varies but is most likely there.
Agreed she broke the cycle of over protective to too flax
@@KG.00 Heck, the cycle of abuse continues because those who were abused continue to abuse others, to begin with.
I agree just like there is queer coding in older shows I think Lin is very childfree coded into the show..which eventually was an irreconcilable difference between her and tenzin.
@@meaghancampbell8109 Sadly, that's a very common reason why many otherwise good relationships end in real life, too. Not wanting children is a major deal-breaker for a lot of people, and vice versa. The topic of children is serious and not something you can compromise about; it's either a mutual yes or no, with one or the other giving in, otherwise, due to the permanent consequences, relationship's not going to survive. Can relate as an adamantly childfree individual myself, with a lot of childhood trauma to boot, so it's been impossible to find that special someone who shares the same childfree views. Most of us handle our traumas poorly, and don't want to risk repeating the cycle.
Probably what went down here is that, after years of dating (probably living with each other and stuff), Tenzin proposed to Lin with the intention of settling down and starting a family with her, while Lin was afraid of what sort of parent she might be, due to growing up without much stability, and didn't want anything to change between them. It was probably the most painful decision, but for people who do want children, they don't want to be in a relationship that they see as going nowhere. It hurts both ways.
@RedPanda check your privilege
People telling Lin to get over things is kind of insulting, considering that Lin is a police officer, and thus, it's a big part of her job to never forget a crime.
Damn....
I don't think that's a good angle of criticism, personally. Justice should be reformative, not punitive. That's not the problem here.
The show encourages toxic positivity. Lin is the aggrieved party and nobody gave a shat if she came off worse or was hurt by anybody else's behavior. Everybody else gets a second chance, but nobody cares if she's worse off for it.
@@ved2360 i don't think he meant that as a pro-"he jaywalked, 5 years prison and a broken jaw for that" but more as an anti-""live and forgive, that murder of the 12 yo happened a week ago,basically a lifetime ago in the justice system,why do you hold grudges for no reasons?,the criminal already forgot about that already so should you"
@@alexandrub8786Exactly. The statute of limitations for serious crimes runs into the _decades_ , so a police officer can't afford to forget.
But see, it's not the severity of their misdeeds that matter. Toph was just a bad mom and Suyin never took responsibility for hurting Lin. We're not talking about murder or cold cases. They already know what happened and it's between family. Like it'd be one thing if they were dealing with a civil or criminal case between strangers.
When you don't get an apology, it kind of just shows that the other party doesn't understand their mistake and doesn't care if they repeat it again to your detriment. If Suyin does something thoughtless to hurt Lin, then what? Mom Toph is either absent or takes Suyin's side. Or Suyin keeps expecting unconditional affection and favors to keep flowing one direction -- never to Lin's benefit.
You've _seen_ family dynamics like that before. Or heard about them.
Logically, I wouldn't blame Lin for flipping them both the finger and cutting them out of her life. That's exactly Toph's lesson, isn't it? She ditched her parents because they were suffocating her. Why shouldn't Lin do the same?
I can't be the only person who saw the moment where Toph expected to kiss and make up only for Lin to bawl them both out and curse a blue streak up and down before storming off. Deadbeat mom doesn't get a vote.
Also the fact that nobody comforts her or even attempted to when she lost her bending is just so sad when katara said she couldn’t return Korras bending people only payed attention to her I honestly doubt that Katara even examined lin during that time period.
I’ve thought of katara using some blind bending to reverse the effects. Sure blood bending g is deadly if in the wrong hands but imagine using blood bending for medical uses.
I can
That could be the case, but I wouldn't be surprised if she refused any treatment at all until they learned of Korra's recovery.
@@the-nina-beans88 i always found it weird it was called “blood ending.” Blood is primarily minerals like iron and potassium, so theoretically only earth benders could actually bend blood.
@@Yeibaldreamss. Flowing in a fluid, made up of water. Stop being pedantic.
@@manniking233 Blood is 50% water 50% minerals, so earth benders could blood bend too.
As someone who was cheated on after 17 years, of knowing my partner, this cut deep. She wanted to stay friends and just "move on, because it upset her" after a few weeks. Then the people around her supported her, and made me feel gaslighted into thinking I was wrong for being so angry and bitter. Ive had so many bad things happen in my life, I could make a book. But ill just say I really understood her bitterness and jadedness. You have to be that way, because the only other option is to cry. Instead you just keep trying to press forward.
Ayy bro you good?
i’m really sorry that happened
That's the worst part I hate the most. People validating others for fucking up so badly.
Six months ago I learned that the sa that I experienced and kept secret from my mother because I didn't want to hurt her she knew about the entire time, no apology. I was called unreasonable, and mean by my whole family. I had to be there to support everyone and whenever I protested I was just being angry. I really, and unfortunately completely understand Lin. And I wished they showed her more compassion.
Honestly I feel your anger as well, you try to move on but these people keep on coming back
In the original Avatar series the idea that “when someone in your family makes you feel unvalued, getting away from them can be the best thing for everyone involved.” Comes up multiple times.
It feels really off that they take such a “you gotta get over it. They’re your family.” Tone with Lin’s arc.
I love tlok but sometimes the writing doesn’t seem to have the same depth as atla
Yeah a lot of character assassinations too
I’d argue it’s because that’s how you treat kids on the subject vs adults. If kids want to get away from their parents it’s because “they’re abusive” or something like that. Whereas when you’re an adult and choose to cut people out of your life, people are like “oh you’re an adult you should learn to forgive them”.
@@danimoluscoAlot of the times ir doesn't
It’s also not real, it’s also probably a bunch of writers on adderall and crack etc
Even cabbage man has a good ending, he became one of the richest people in the world.
Also when it comes to tenzin's relationship, I vaguely remember a scene where his wife mentions that she wanted to be with him whole he was in a relationship and put effort into getting him, so I think the break up was probably a messy one.
yeah, i remember after korra teared up mako's desk at the station, she said something along the lines of 'well you should've seen air temple island when tenzin broke up with me' lmao. definitely a messy break up XD
Can't blame both really..
Tenzin wanted Kids and I feel Lin didn't. That breaks 90% of relationships
@@psychospeech6189Lin wasn’t willing to *after Tenzin broke up with her.*
Remember, his whole focus on having a family is to *rebuild the air nomads.* By rejecting Lin (from what Pama was saying, sounds like by cheating) that’s like denouncing her as ‘Not Worthy To Be A Mother.’
That’s traumatic as hell. Plus, again, the betrayal, among other traumas she encountered in her life, of course she wasn’t willing to put herself out there and eventually have a child.
@Norinia I don't know if that happened before Tenzin's break up..because I can definitely see Pemma getting with Tenzin because of Lin's reluctance to be a Mom.
Rather than Tenzin going with Pemma and just tossing Lin like that.
Tenzin even admits that they were having different goals and thoughts on life much before he met Pema, I also don't think Tenzin's gonna cheat.
@@psychospeech6189 Lin doesn't want to inflict the same pain she had if she have a child, she also loved Tenzin as she respect his decision. However Tenzin back then are a bit of rash and desperate like how Aang did during his life as a parent, the Air Nomads never had a chance to become a parent because they had to let go their children to be trained as an airbender once they born, Aang himself are a little bit at lost when he become a parent and desperate to trained Tenzin when he become an airbender.
Lin decision to never had kids are also the same reason why she broke off with Tenzin as he is desperate and a little bit reckless which worries Lin as Tenzin action are similar to her mother did. She afraid if she has a child with Tenzin and Tenzin never act like a father and instead forcing their child to become an Air Nomads, it would bringing more stress and trauma to herself.
The worst part of her relationship with Toph and Su is that is I remember correctly its Lin the one that ends up apologizing to them? Or smth like that.
Also like so many characters take Lin for granted. Bcs at the end of the day she always is there in any way she can, even when others think she is being too bitter and unreasonable, she's there.
Yeah
One way or another,both the people around her and the fandom (at least the part of the fandom that loves Suyin and Toph too much) forced Lin to apologize to the people who abused her
That's like telling a guy who got shot to apologize to the shooter or telling a bank to apologize to a bank robber for having "so much money that it was easy to steal"
It reeks of victim-blaming and Lin being coerced into apologizing to Suyin made me quit the show entirely
@@DragonGoddess18 wait people actually like suyin? I was still upset she never apologized for everything she did as a teen with the robbery and scarring her sister and she as gotten no punishment
@@darriongeorge5137 i don't like her
@@emmanuelsebi6964 All aboard the suyin hate train!!! CHOOO CHOOOOOOO!!!!!
@@darriongeorge5137 They're plenty of people who felt emboldened by Suyin or just like her sassiness
I saw videos that praised her as "THE BEST CHARACTER EVER!" (paraphrasing the title)
Wanna like the character? Fine.
I have personal code when it comes to liking characters, especially ones who are bad people (regardless if they're the protagonist or antagonist): It's ok to like said character but you should be careful how you express your opinion on said character. Even if you don't mean to, there's a chance that what you say could constitute as enabling.
All of them owe Lynn a huge apology
Too bad it never happened in the show
@@DragonGoddess18It never happens in general.
If you're the only one who is actually right and no one believes you than it's for nothing.
Even when she reconciles with Su & later Toph, we never hear either of them give any kind of outward or verbal apology (or the only other possibility is that they both tried to reach out & apologise during their 30 year estrangement but Lin wouldn’t accept it) yeah they admitted their mistakes but they never make statements of promising to make up for them & never making Lin feel like that again (seriously, did Su ever apologise for physically SCARRING her own sister?! I know she did it by accident but still!)
Apologies can come in many forms, not just by saying sorry aloud (although it is the most common way) but by saying you feel bad & regret what you did, that you want to make up for it & be better - all these things (at least to me) indicate that someone is sorry & wants to be a better friend or family to you. I just wish we got a more clear indication from Lin’s family than just “I’m a different person now.” or “I messed up.”
Exactly
Perfectly said
Exactly
I would be more forgiving of That whole arc if it wasn’t entirely from Lin’s POV. They go into deep detail about how it affected her, and then act like she’s just gotta let it go.
Does she?
Maybe if it was split up between Lin’s POV as well as Su’s. Show us Su’s progression. Show us Su really trying for years to make things up for what she’s done. THEN I might be inclined to believe that the problem is that Lin isn’t trying to heal.
As the story is, it makes it look like they’re trying to say “Get over your trauma because family DESERVES that forgiveness whether they put in the effort or not.”
Which is crazy because a big part of The OG Avatar is “sometimes getting away from a family that doesn’t make you feel valued is the best thing for everyone involved.”
@@MadameTamma Yeah the way they wrote that little dynamic could have been a lot better and more nuanced.
Irony is Lin was alone and all her relationships failed but she became a very strong mother like figure to team Korra unintentionally. She was always looking out for them always had their best interest in mind and would even sometimes personally go out of her way to protect them even when it was against her job. Her love for job the only actual good relationship she had ended up giving her more connections than before.
For me, Lin was the most sympathetic character in this. As the oldest child in my family I had to deal with some pretty similar family stuff. My little brother and I even have the same dynamic Lin and Su did. I was the good kid and my brother acted out a lot. That led to a lot of problems in the family, problems that I don’t believe were ever resolved. But apparently my mom doesn’t see it that way.
My mom on several occasions has tried to convince me to let it go. And she once tried to gaslight me into believing that it was somehow my fault my brother acted out, that I wasn’t a good brother to him. Okay maybe that’s not what she intended to do, but it sure felt like it. And it was completely below the belt.
I will concede that there were some problems in her life that were of her own making. Like for instance, if she had been more open to the idea of having kids, then maybe she could have gotten her happily ever after with Tenzin. She pretty much decided she valued her career over having a family with Tenzin, and if she has any regrets about that then that’s on her. You can’t eat your cake and have it too.
That being said, I still completely sympathize with Lin. All she really wanted was for her mom and sister to take responsibility and apologize. But the fact they weren’t willing to do that for her just goes to show how toxic they are.
you're right but your comment about "if she had been more open to the idea of having kids, then maybe she could have gotten her happily ever after with Tenzin" obviously i know Tenzin needed children to ensure the survival of airbenders and airbending culture but the wording makes it seem like it's just an easy obstacle to get over 💀💀 it's less of a problem she brought on herself and more of plain bad luck and incompatibility
@@areeba7045 Lin also may of been afraid to repeat the mistakes that Toph made with her really. When you are in a dysfunctional family situation like that and get out of it I think its normal for a lot of people to be afraid of being a parent as they fear that they'll be a bad one.
Also, two generations of Beifongs at that point were not really good parents. Toph's parents were extremely overprotective but also neglectful and emotionally abusive to the point that she ran away. Toph unfortunately overcorrected from that and also likely had no clue how the fuck to even handle parenting considering her parents were horrible at it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed and was bothered by the fact that Tenzin immediately dumped her when Pema confessed her love to an older man who was, you know, already in a relationship with someone else? (Note, sorry for the length I tried to make it shorter lols)
2 angles to that; If Tenzin was so unhappy with his incompatible relationship, he should have had the balls to have a healthy, adult conversation about it and break up amicably instead of letting it drag on for no reason.
And Pema was just as immature about it if not worse. At best, she was so young and dumb that she thought Tenzin's difficulties was an okay time to do what she did without issue, at worst, she noticed the cracks in their relationship and took full advantage of it for her own gain, not caring about the home-wrecking hurt she would cause. Either way, Tenzin and Pema deserve each other. They were both too immature for a real adult relationship while poor Lin gets left in the dust.
THAT! Tenzin only left Lin when a younger girl appeared and told him she wanted to give him babies. He could end his relation with Lin years earlier if he wasn't happy. But no, let's wait for the replacement product before throwing the old one...
I suspect it was more than that. Toph probably looked forward to her family’s Union with the House of Twinkle Toes. Aang had to have been happy about it too. And I suspect both Tenzin and Lin felt that pressure.
@@PeachWookieeaang n toph wouldn't do something like that.
It wouldn’t have been intentional. I can hear the jokes Toph would’ve made. “Hey, Twinkle Toes, what do you think Lin and Tenzin’s kids’ll be like?”
@@PlayerX218I think they would, but unintentionally
Lin married her career. And I think she's happy in that. Her mother may not have cared about her legacy as chief of police, but Lin does. Other people may not care about right and wrong, but Lin does.
I think we just don't see the happy points in Lin's life. We don't see cops she mentored doing well because of her mentorship, and her taking pride in it. We don't see the time she and Tenzin were happy before the problem of him having to have children to ensure the continuation of the avatar cycle forced them apart. We can even see how they are temperamentally well suited to each other. we don't see Lin being the hero because Korra and crew have to be bigger heroes. We don't see her praised for her rare skill at metal bending, which should still be limited to only a few people because all the police metal bend, and she's always surrounded by them.
But the fact that we don't see any of these things doesn't mean that they don't happen.
I would kind of like to hear that Lin becomes a sage when she retires as she's already spent most of her life along in meditation. I would like to see lin when she gets an actual vacation.
This doesn't help family trauma in any way
Sis you gotta stop huffing that copium. Ppl who "marry their careers" are usually very unhappy and unfulfilled individuals who use their jobs to distract them from their greater reality. She's irrate and acts like she has a chip on her shoulder. Based on what she did to Air Temple Island we know that Tenzin breaking up with her cut her deep and we can conclude that she does want an exclusive relationship. And don't get me started on her family issues. Does she have anyone to call her own or be an emotional pillar for her? Didnt think so.
The one thing I disagree with is that we don't see her be a hero, bc we absolutely do. She saves Korra's life multiple times, she is an absolute badass and she knows it.
@@678fireplaceNot everone cares about human connection, some people prefer living a solitary life and Lin very clearly is not a people person. She avoids that like cats avoid water.
"lIn marRieD hEr cArEEr"
They don’t say it out right but i got serious parentification vibes from Lin and Su when they were growing up.
It is not uncommon for people who where parentified as children to not want to become parents later on.
Lin already raised a kid.
I got the same feeling! I think that made Su’s lack of empathy even more hurtful
@@danimolusco the parentification also explains why Lin and Toph had a hard time reconciling. Lin wanted her mom to be a mom not to rase herself and her sister. She also wanted a dad. And Toph was kind of a jerk about in that scene.
I think Lins life is more realistic 😅 I can’t explain it more simply
funnily enough, i think the /one good thing that has happened to lin comes at the hand of someone who also gone through some shit and takes a bunch of L's: mako. i really adore her and mako's mentor/mentee relationship a lot and i think it's cute how mako is one of the closest to her. like if anyone else but mako grabbed her arms and shook her in distress the way mako does in book 4 after it's announced he has to work for wu longer, they probably would've been catapulted ten feet away with the cable while mako just gets a 'well tough luck kid, i can't do anything about it,' lol
This could very well also be Mako. Both parents dead, unresolved emotional trauma, possible neurodivergence, stunted emotional development, a near-death experience of the explosive variety AND a thankless job with no prospects of landing him a decent place in history. That and he made his exes turn gay for each other. Man just can't get a break.
Buhay pa si Toph lol
I think Mako and Katara share a lot of similarities and if only the show gave more backstory and character motivation to the Avatar's friends, Mako could have had a "The Southern Raiders" episode for his character where he, as a police/detective, randomly crossed path with the firebender who killed his parents then can't find enough evidence to put that murderer into prison. A test of his character and a challenge to his worldview.
Another sad aspect is Korra asking Pema how her and Tenzin ended up together and her story being presented as something cute, completely overshadowing what Lin felt in this whole situation. She had a serious job and probably was expected to deny her feelings for the safety of the people she is protecting.
and the father aspect feels even more hurtful when you realize she asked Toph for decades who her father is, but the one who asked the question and got an answer wasn't even her.
She must have felt ignored throughout her life
Pemma* or pema*
@@billylilblini fixed it thx
I always wanted to give Lin a hug because I felt she needed one, but she doesn't seem like the type that would be comfortable with that kind of affection and that in itself might be caused by her shit life. Mom isn't affectionate, Tinzen was but left, no dad or anyone to show her the unconditional love she needed not even her sister because that was very conditional.
Toph's parenting style is one of the portrayals I find most accurate until she bends the rules because it would make her look bad as chief of police, there are a lot of reasons why she would cover it up but "my reputation!" isn't one of them.
True LOK was wierd aang wouldn't neglect his kids
@NeyamRye exactly, he would've loved taking them all on those trips, he probably would've taken Toph's kids if she'd let him, why would he ever leave any kid out when air benders were running the very real risk of extinction
I love lin but yeah her life is just miserable
I hate that Lin’s scar resembles Zuko scar even if her accident occurred 25 years ago she should have added cream to fade it.
@@luisvelez1952 Lins scar is nowhere near as bad as Zukos. Zukos got almost half his face burned while Lin only as a faded slash mark across her cheek and has still retained her beauty.
@@kcirtapelyk6060 but it still a Zuko scar knock of just like Mako and Bolín are an imitation of Zuko and Sokka.
The creators are so fixated on "realistic" that they become unrealistically cruel to their own characters. F**king sadistic
Promise you this isn’t so unrealistic
But it is realistic. Life can be really cruel. Sometimes justice is never served for those that especially need it.
Calm down. They created characters you care enough to be this mad that they went through crap.
Spiderman writers:
exactly this. exactly.
Bro i love this video Lin Beifong is very underrated a woman with honor and good morals honestly she's my favorite beifong. I hate how people justify Suyin's actions to her and anyone else.
Here's the thing i think Suyin is objectively a interesting character. But i feel no one realize she's possibly the worst Beifong of all time. Like Lao Toph's Dad being restrictive of Toph was wrong, Toph was crazy not to mention to her kids their dads or not punish Suyin was awful parenting. But Suyin is an ASSHOLE in every position of her family she's in.
As a daughter doesn't respects her mom's job so became a getaway driver for criminals.
As a sister didn't respect Lin's job either, gave Lin a literal scar, and didn't apologize for breaking the law or scaring her sister's face ever but said as a kid "this is all your fault" to Lin. And went Lin didn't accept her bullshit apology 30 years ago " i admit i wasn't a perfect kid but i have changed" she later said No wonder Tenzin broke off things with you years ago" Petty Woman.
And as a mom i heard not sure of that she made Opal feel left out a non bender however still did a terrible job a parenting with allowing Kuvira into the family with no one's consent including her husband, let Opal having toxic sisterhood with Kuvira, and let Bataar her eldest son support Kuvira and have a romantic relationship with his stepsister(incest), And told Bataar it was ok to team up with Kuvira and not arrest him with her. With all of that i say FUCK YOU SUYIN.
Glad that there's someone else who doesn't like Suyin
Its not incest lmao. They aren't related.
It’s worse than step sister, full on adopted sister. Marriage wise complete incest
@@hdmonster3327-🤓
With Bataar he avoided prison due the fact that information he gave that were crucial to defeat of Kuvira and meet with lighter punishment of house arrest with limited time outside of his familly house and not being able to leave a city again.
Honestly she was my favorite character I always felt she was in the right with her issues or at least more right. I was like dude she deserved better.
preach my guy
I've only watched videos of ATLA and the Legend of Korra. But I will eventually watch the shows I hope. I feel so much for Lin and finding out in the comments that she is the one who apologizes to Toph and Suyin just makes me irritated. I would have never forgiven them because they both broke the law because of family.
Honestly it makes sense for Tenzin and Lin to not get together with all the facts of Lin not seemingly wanting children and being very career driven and Tenzin wanting children and having them raised in an air nomad environment which is exactly what Pema could provide (being an acolyte and all that) but it's nice they become friends. However there is no excuse for her family to treat her so badly, she deserved every apology and I wouldn't mind if Lin decided to keep them permanently cut out of her life, it's not a great message to have her accept their wrongdoings, especially since so many people go through similar household situations.
I somehow laughed when one of Tenzin's kids called her "Our Dad's Ex GF (I forgot who said it)" when they were trying to save her. But in that case, I still thought that was low given that she's just doing her job.
Lesson: Never let your kids meet your exes.
I completely agree and I've been thinking about this exact subject for quite some time during the last few years.
Lin's reunion with Su at Zaofu actually made me hate Korra. After she called Lin a bitter old woman while knowing full well that her family situation was super complicated, I couldn't like her. I genuinely wish Lin responded with "I became even more bitter when you were born", just to get the last word in, and let Korra know that she'd never be closer to Lin than Aang was.
I can see why Korra did it. She’s a 17 year old girl who knew one side of the story. She thought she was helping Opal who really wanted to have a relationship with her aunt.
BUT looking at the situation as a whole, Opal and Korra really put Lin on the spot. Lin wasn’t ready to talk to Opal and her only options were to either sacrifice her own boundaries by lying and letting Opal in when she wasn’t emotionally ready for that, or come across as the bad guy for rejecting Opal who doesn’t understand her whole situation
But you have to see the context. Lin's Granddaughter Opal who has absolutely no responsibility for everything her mom Suyin messed up, got treated extremely bad, distanced and straight up mean by Lin, which is just unfair. It's not Opals fault that Suyin treated Lin badly in the past, so I get where Korra was coming from. Korra was just trying to do Opal a favor and help her to communicate/connect with her aunt Lin, because that's the only thing Opal wanted from Lin.
@@anni1348 Did Suyin never tell her daughter why Lin never visited, or sent letters, or try to contact any of them? Opal would have understood if she was told what happened between her aunt and her mother, because she experienced a similar conflict with Kuvira. Suyin should've owned up to her mistake instead of letting Opal have high hopes that Lin would be happy to be in life.
And Korra knew Lin for a fair amount of time to realize that she's been given a bad hand in her life, and instead of trying to sympathize, she insults her.
@@ICantRecognizeCelebrities I know this is from a year ago but Opal absolutely didn't deserve the ire and bitterness from Lin regardless of how justifiably angry she is at her mother. That's projection, and it's not healthy even if you do "understand" where it's coming from.
@@MachinaOwl What a great response that would have been if anyone said that after Lin snapped at her. Too bad Korra was there to make it worse.
Nothing kills a relationship faster than one person wanting kids and the other person wanting nothing to do with kids......
Yikes
THANK YOU!! This bothered me so much! The fact that all of this is not hidden in the show but also never resolved and she's never given respect bothers me SO much!
The fact that sokka would probably be best parent from the gang is saying something
Zuko was great at it too.
I'd say Azula's story is pretty tragic. Makes sense that she and Lin are my two comfort characters...
Azula and Lin are two of the most tragic characters fr
Lin is a very good character and you are right that she has one of the most saddest lives in the series
When I first watched the show it seemed to me that Lin always got the short end of the stick in every area of her life but I didn’t really take it to heart. I took it more like they played up her bad luck for comic effect the same way they always gave the cabbage salesman bad luck. I also found a funny irony in that she didn’t want kids but kind of ended up being like the mama duck of the group anyway.
Yeah I was a bit annoyed that they got on her case for holding a grudge too. Suyin might have changed but it was unreasonable to expect her sister to just let go. I think they did mention that Suyin tried to reach out to her sister before but yeah. I will say it wasn't fair for Lin to blow up Suyin's kids though who had literally nothing to do with what her sister or her mother did to her.
That's a fair reading; Suyin didn't wholly change (she sheltered VARRICK after all), but running a city does require maturity and she does seem to have been a mature parent at the least. That said, I'd have preferred if Suyin did apologize for scarring Lin and being a brat.
honestly i always liked her, the relationship she had with her mother and sister is extremely relatable and realistic
Lin deserved so much better.
That's one of the reasons I love fanfiction so much, because yes, at the start I loved reading korrasami fanfic just to see how people would actually develop their relationship throughout the series, but Lin just always struck a chord with me.
She deserved so þuch better and holy shit there are fanfics out there. The one I'm reading at the moment is of the POV of an OC who's Lin's (future) love interest, but it has both of them dealing with trauma, from Amon and also their childhoods etc.
It actually gives Lin character growth and shows you how she feels (or might feel, according to the author) about everything that happened in the past. I just love deep diving into a character's mind through someone (or multiple someone) else's mind.
But, seriously, Lin deserved so much better.
I love everything about Lin. I love that she's a hardass, i love that she was right all along, i love that she refused to forgive just because THEY needed it, and i love that she chose to forgive because it's what SHE needed, and it really was. Doesn't mean her story couldn't have been done better, clearly it could have, but for what she gets... I love her dearly with all my heart. Lin Beifong is a queen 👑
Why does every member of Team Avatar grow up to be a terrible parent, Except Katara & Maybe Zuko?
Ikr! This is such a weird trend with sequels to popular pieces of fantasy media that feature young protagonists.
aang no he was mid to slightly bad parent. he wasn't perfect but over all they viewed him fondly
Toph became a hermit which basically means she stopped parenting. This really shows with how Lin ended up being parentified, and Suyin ended up becoming an undisciplined brat because no real parental figures.
They were young survivors of war who had to grow up too fast with no source of therapy. How would they magically become good parents?
Zuko seems to have fking nailed it
i just want lin to be happy for ONCE agsjshsj she deserves it 🌸 at least there are hundreds of happy endings in kyalin fanfiction
Fr
I never thought about Kyalin before, but it makes sense to me! Lin's story hits too close to home for me in many aspects, this is why I was never able to get into LoK. Maybe headcannoning that she finds happiness in a genuine loving connection will get me to finish the series.
I would totally pay for a new Legend of Korra comic with Lin's happy ending.
Everything you said is what I thought. I super agree 😢
Thank god someone is finally saying this. I've never thought Legend of Korra measured up to A:TLA, and their writing of Lin Beifong was one of the major reasons why I didn't really get into it.
Lin was treated like a red haired stepchild. Lin was among the only level headed people in LoK, yet she got the short end of the stick for no good reason.
Imagine if Tenzin and Lin were the parents of the next Airbending generations. Their kids will be 💪💪
Toph shxt on her parents only to end up being the worst parent of all time 😂
It would really be painful if Lin and Tenzin broke up over the issue of having children. Like, I can honestly see them working through that if Tenzin didn't HAVE to have kids, but he really didn't have a choice on that front. As one of and then THE last airbender in the world he really had to have kids, and the more the better, no matter if he really wanted to or not.
Would've been crazy if tenzin didn't even want kids 💀
There are so many double standers for the Gaang as parents, the fans hate that Aang isn't a good dad even tho that's just apart of his culture but for Toph it's okay? Not say you are saying that but that's the oppions I get from most fans
I don't even think he's a bad dad just not a perfect dad I mean being the avatar is bound to make you a bit preoccupied
nah i don't think this is that good of a read, it's moreso fans expected the good little kid they projected onto when they were kids themselves to always be a perfectly, good protagonist and the fact that aang, like any character, has some flaws affected their self-perception more than they'd like to admit so the pushback for aang perhaps emotionally neglecting his non-airbender children came to be (and that's all this is! he wasn't a bad father or an absent father at all, nor do his kids think that as well. bumi and kya were simply upset that tenzin couldn't see where they were coming from). on the other hand, i don't think anyone expected toph to be a standout parent given her temperament and own home life. i have never seen a single fan claim toph was a good mother to her children, but the pushback for her characterization is less bc it doesn't affect fans as much since it's what they expected in the first place.
its because people push he was an awful parent even though thats obviously not the case.
There are major differences between Aang and Toph. Toph had two children by DIFFERENT FATHERS and what was worse was that they never knew their fathers. On top of that they had absolute freedom to do what they wanted. That is a recipe for disaster. Aang and Katara were slightly better parents. Katara was definitely a good mother. Aang being the Avatar meant traveling the world to maintain peace and balance made him preoccupied. He spent a lot of time on Tenzin but neglected the other two children. Aang definitely wasn't perfect but he did a slightly better job than Toph.
@@Vietmac1993I wouldn’t even say Aang neglected Kya and Bumi. He definitely favored Tenzin but I don’t think he neglected any of his children.
Lynn is a person that cares a lot, looks for resolution from things and people how has as much apathy as complete strangers. Sometimes people do terrible things realize it’s terrible but still do not regret it Air quotes it made them who they are😒. This reminds me of a quote from an anime with one character who hates the trope of the bad kid who turned their life around like Lynn’s sister. The person who turns their life around gets far more prays then the person who consistently does the right thing from the very beginning and that pisses her off😤
This video made me feel relieved, knowing that there are people out there who care about Lin’s pain?
Princess Yue had an arguably equally crumby life: Raised in a sexist nation with the express knowledge that she was a political tool for the purpose of marrying a man and giving birth to his child; she is then finally put in a situation where she had no practical option other than to give up her life to save the world before even reaching true adulthood.
Jet had a rather bitter life all things considered: Except for just prior to his parents' deaths, his entire life was dedicated near-solely to the purpose of revenge; he finally got a taste of a better life, but it was all cut short mere days after he finally had a chance - and a false one, at that - at a safe, secure life.
Amon actually had a comparably bad life too: His father was not only emotionally neglectful, he was mentally, emotionally and physically abusive to boot; Amon eventually sees all benders as evil (himself likely included) and opts to take all bending from everyone, only to have his own brother kill them both right when he thought they could work at rebuilding their relationship (even if it was as partners in crime/anti-bender-terrorism).
Yep lot of sad stories to go around!
Im glad im not the only one noticing this unfairness.
Justice for Lin Beifong.
I think she should do what her mom and sister did. Retire early and go travel the world and find what will make her truly happy and fulfilled. Maybe even try looking up her father and his family, get to know them, and build new relationships.
You know, despite everything Lin has been through she still has a good heart and is willing to help or look out for people
I love the fact that Toph was a bad mother; it is realistic. I just love it. I am tired of parents especially main characters who eventually become parents themselves, always being down to earth 100 percent of the time all the time while antagonists always have bastard parents blah blah blah; I’m sick of it. I love that Toph was not good at parenting.
It shows how people are not perfect. Considering how immature Toph was as a teenager and how bad her relationship with her parents was and how stubborn of a woman Toph is, it is really no surprise.
I'm more surprised at the direction they took. If anything, I would've expected Toph to be the kind of parent who treats you like their friend instead of their child.
Although if I'm being honest, I feel like it would've been more realistic for Toph to not have kids. Toph doesn't strike me as the kind of person who'd even want a relationship, let alone have kids.
@@bluebird1914 She had a crush on Zuko and Sokka.
@@bluebird1914 true
In terms of writing, I’ll never forgive who let all this happen to Lin and didn’t even really give her the proper storyline befitting the background given unto her character. The hardships she undergoes shouldn’t have fallen to way side, it should’ve ended with more acknowledgment- any catharsis she can find after AND ONLY after her mother and sister at least apologize or say specifically who hurt instead of leaving it all vague and in the past. There’s clearly a victim here or at least a person who was consistently given the short end of the stick in life with no reprieve. And it’s Lin.
A while ago, I had a story idea where Lin had a son. Given her upbringing, Lin was obsessed with making him into her image. And after realizing just how unfairly his extended family treated his mother, he in turn was obsessed with living up to her expectaions.
Eventually, Lin learns some key lessons:
-That her son shouldn't inherit her grudges. Even if justified, their resentment would only embitter both of them.
-That he'd likely destroy himself trying to live up to her dreams, if she lets him.
-And most of all, that there's true happiness to be found in being a mother, independent of everything else.
*sigh*
I should be writing.
I don't know man, I feel like Jet (watched his home burn as a child, an experience that clearly radicalized him and just when he sees the light and is turning things around, sees that firebenders are infiltrating ba sing sa, tries to expose them, only to get arrested, brainwashed and eventually killed for his troubles all while he's still a teenager) or Azula (viewed as a monster by her mother, a pawn of her father's war, a perfectionist who suffers an absolute mental breakdown at the age of 14 after losing her entire support unit, something that we still haven't seen her fully recover from) are far more tragic than Lin
Well he did say that we would cover legend of korra for this video specifically. Also while Jet and Azula's stories are tragic, Lin's is heartbreaking in a realistic way. Many people walking around in the real world have experienced the same or comparable family dynamics as talked about in this video. And it impacts the viewer in a way that Jet's and Azula's very specific scenarios might not.
This is not an dumb competition about who"s suffering more because then we could put Katara (got her mom killed and was forced to throw away her entire childhood and become an adult of her village), Korra (has literally PTSD, grew up training to be an avatar just to learn that she has no purpose outside of that) and Aang (got his culture and loved ones erased by a war he blames himself for) within this ridiculous list as well. Like it doesn't undo anything that Lin went through as character. She still had an messy childhood with an emotionally unavailable parent, grew up with no father and has been being gaslighted/perceived as the bad guy by her own Sister/mother through out her whole life. And her partner probably cheated on her with someone else. To be honest, Lins Situation is much closer to real life than anything Azula or Jet ever experienced, because they went through very specific situations.
@@anni1348yes cuz young children in war-torn countries being obsessed with vengeance definitely doesn't happen. Not in the enlightned inclusive and progressive 21st century. So unrealistic
I always thought it was the "children" issue that broke them up, but I always felt it was a calculated move by Tenzin. He couldn't risk having earthbender children like Aang had a waterbending daughter, so he went with a nonbender to reproduce with. I know it sounds cold, but he did have the fate of an entire peoples on his head. What if he didn't have any air bending children? What then? No more Air Nomads? Rewatch Korra and really analyze Tenzin with Pema and him around Lin. In my opinion he may love Pema but I don't think he is "in love" with her. As for Lin he clearly has feelings for her even though he would never act on them. Also in my opinion. Lin being alone is more of a... refusal of being with someone if she is not in love with them, and she clearly has unresolved feelings for Tenzin. The whole thing is rather tragic in my mind.
Very true.
Toph wanted to give freedom to her daughters because she doesn't like her parents overprotectiveness. Instead she accidently create another Toph with a tough, cold and detached Lin. Toph doesn't understand about love and caring to her own family so she just leave them be while she just focused on her career to the point Lin wishes to follow her mother footstep while nurturing the same attitude and personality of her mother for herself. Toph also at fault as she always keeping secrets from her kids including the fathers of her children and her tough uncaring attitude accompanied with no responsibility to her family is the reason why the whole family once broken, cannot be repaired anymore even with her grandchildren wanted to reconnect with their grandmother. Just because she wanted to be left alone in the swamp doesn't mean she can forever cut herself away from the mistake she should take responsibility off as she must faced the problem head on.
Remember how they used to compare Lin to Spider-Man? Apparently that extends to their sucky personal lives too.
wait hold on, WHEN did that happen?
Would have loved if the show would have been about a character like her ngl, an older main character than korra in general since a lot of the ATLA fans would have grown up by the point korra released as well.
Would have been cool if the series continued growing with us. But it is what it is.
I think it's a good example of how bad of a parent, Toph was, as she just allowed Suyin to get away with everything (particularly with her being a literal criminal). Su literally gets away with her actions by being sent to live with her wealthy grandparents and suffers no consequences for actions, while Lin gets permanently scarred on her face, and gets scolded by Toph for arresting Su.
3:30-4:02 hits deep for me. It’s the same with my family. I cannot forget the things they’ve said and done to me since they just expect me to get over it. I rarely hear the word «sorry»
Ye Lin had a shit time. As you say, it’s not that she had the worst experiences, it’s just that she never has a happy ending or even resolved the bad experiences. On top of that she just gets told it’s *her* problem for being angry about it 😂
The cabbage merchant winds up starting CabbageCorp, so...
This is how families typically are: the mother always forces everyone else to keep coddling and forgiving the drug addict, the thief, the delinquent younger child in the family, while the responsible older child is always put upon to redistribute their successes, their wealth, their birthright to inheritance back to the delinquent sibling because “they’ve had a hard life”.
I wanted to see Lin lock Su up against Toph’s orders, and hand the case file to someone outside the family, fairly declaring a “conflict of interest”. Then, have Lin quit the police force and go on her own personal spiritual journey to find meaning.
Lin and Tenzin could’ve been nice, but honestly, her and Bumi would make a lot more sense. Additionally, how much of Kuvira’s nonsense would’ve been stopped dead with Lin as an adoptive mother?
Suyin DOES have somewhat of a growth but I agree she should have shown more acknowledgement of her actions.
My headcanon is that lyn is unable to have children because in the accident that scarred her she also resulted in an abdominal injury and that's why they broke up. So her sister caused her to become infertile and cost her relationship with tenzen
My headcanon is that she’s just infertile it’s not uncommon. The injury is a stretch. Or maybe she just kept telling tenzin she wasn’t ready and tenzin was not tryna wait and liked Pema who was younger anyway
I’m glad someone else noticed that’s my big thing about that show is it really made the original characters look bad.
Not Zuko Aang or Iroh
@@emmanuelsebi6964 maybe Iroh and Zuko but definitely not Aang.
@@emmanuelsebi6964half the story is how aang was a shitty father lol
@@JrskeetproAang at least had an excuse. (Because he had a fuck ton of responsibility)
@@Jrskeetpro Not really; he loves his kids, but makes mistakes and even those make sense (he has to rebuild a destroyed culture and keep peace in a world recovering from a devastating war).
Compared to say Jonas Venture Sr from the Venture Bros or Mallory Archer from Archer and Aang's pretty good.
tbh, i really hated suyins character
Same here
I hate Suyin so much
Thank god, i'm not the only one
i hate suyin
She's the worst.
I think one of the reasons Tenzin didn't marry Lin is their kids would be either earth benders or air benders. 50/50 with a slight chance that some of them might be a non bender like Bumi. And Tenzin needed them all to be air benders as mush as possible. So he married a non bender girl. Ofc it's mean thinking but it's kinda realistic of you think of it. And yeah talking of Bumi. I really really wished Lin and Bumi would end up together. Cause they are so total opposites😂. And they would be such hilarious couple. And Bumi would make laugh her serious face every day😅. And they were at their late young years physically. I'm sure they were capable of having kids. That would be a way to set things right with of these characters with sad stories. Cause Bumi's story is also sad if you remember
I felt it the entore show, her dedications, her sacrafices, everything she did was undermined or or screwed over the entire show, nomatter how much she sacrifices and how hard she tries, a lot of it amounts to her being fucked over. Shes literally my favorite character because she remains good, and she keeps on giving and trying even when people dog on her or continue to undermine her.
Lin: Tragically scarred for life both physically and mentally by family, never catching a break, quite possibly unable to live a peaceful life at this point.
Suyin: Got away with crime, builds whole new city, has kids, leads a happy life, likely never told anyone about her criminal past, makes her lawful sister look like the worst family member for 30 years, is somehow stronger than Lin, "by the way, did I tell you all how much of an absolute [big no word] my sister is?" never *ONCE* properly apologizes to Lin.
Totally agree with this, I'm glad someone said it! Lin Beifong deserved better!
By the end of the series, Mako must've been like the son she never wanted but probably needed. I wish something got fleshed out more between those two.
Actually, sue did apologise. She did it at the end of old wounds. Also I remember running into this guys years ago who somewhat teased me at school, yet as adults he was actually quite likeable. It might depend, but I find it's better to forgive someone who wronged you in the past than forever holding a grudge.
Also, gaslighting is when you make someone question their perception of reality or decision making in order to control them, NOT when you're trying to make them see your point of view when you're convinced it's the right one
So someone giving you a personal scar by disrespecting your morals doesn't make it ok for you to be angry with them? Especially when i heard Suyin said No wonder Tenzin broke things off with you years ago before her battle vs Lin.
@@emmanuelsebi6964 I did say it depended on the situation
I'm glad you're pointing this out
The way they dealt with Lin’s story was probably one of the biggest things that turned me off from enjoying the show. It really felt like the writers were saying this sort of treatment is ok. Could you imagine if Iroh told Zuko to stop complaining and forget about his trauma. He’d come off as the biggest quack and that’s what It feels like the writers of this show are.
I agree, because when Lin sacrificed herself to let Tenzin and his family escape, I felt bad for her. Also, not to mention the time when her bending was taken away, and everytime she got electrocuted or badly injured by enemies. I felt sad, but atleast she's a badass and survived!!
I feel for Lin because she had no emotional support, even when doing the right thing, from her mother, didn't know anything about her father, got a permanent scar from her sister who was driving criminals away from a robbery. Then after that, her sister gets sent away with no consequences, and her mother (her idol) soon retires and leaves every to her because of the incident. Lin's sister and Toph should have went to Lin instead of just sending an invitation.
Both tophs kids are broken in one way
Her life is hard. *ROCK HARD* sorry I'll leave now...
Rock meet bottom.
Has anyone stopped to consider that it wasnt because she didnt want kids, but she couldnt have kids? Yea. I can see Lin being opposed to having children, but I think when she was with Tenzin, she understood why it was so vital that he have children. So maybe she wasn't thrilled about the idea, but tried anyway only to find out she can't. That would only make Tenzin leaving her behind that much worse
No Cabbage man also got a better entering. he became a rich industrialist
Korra made so mad in the episode where Lin snapped at Opal. Like, girl shut up. This family stuff. You don't know how far her hurt goes.
Lynn got a point her family treated her like crappy
On one hand, as older sister I understand horribly Lin’s side. But I’ll make a case of why letting go was a good choice for Lin, not because of her family but for herself. When you spend years expecting something you are not going your way be given, one grows even more sour. I am not saying she should just go back to them as if nothing happened but move on from that and leave it behind takes that burden out of your soul. Yeah, she is not getting an apology and by no longer expecting one, she can heal from that. It’s not about Toph and Seuyin , it’s about her and the pain in her past that she needs to let go so she can live her present as she seems fit regardless of what her family thinks or does.
To this day i still do not like Su. I will never get over it and i will never forgive Toph for it 🤷🏽♀️. Lin deserved the absolute best, she was always going above and beyond for people and it felt like no one did the same for her. Her having to apologize to Su and Toph MAKES me sick, to this day! Lin was real and valid in her feelings and everyone is just teehee move on. Su got a slap on the wrist and a shiny metal kingdom, and Lin got a scar she’ll see in every reflection
I dont have either too because i chose not to. But I am the favorite Uncle. I love my life.
Poor Lynn
I would be pissed if I was her to😡
Lin also got somewhat of a happy ending. She reconciled with her mother and sister.
i seriously mean this when i say the bolin asami mako subplots were a big waste and could have been used to add more to literally any of the gaangs children call me bias but unironically korras friends who we waste so much time on learning about their shallow lives and personalities and i’m including all even asami, even tho she had the most potential the creators couldn’t give a single fuck about her character looking at the comics and seeing how they use her for love triangle bait involving our protagonist for the second time. Quite literally any time a episode cut to a subplot of the gaangs children you best believe it was rated well a big part of season 3 success goes to the amazing b plots of the gaangs kids especially tenzin and lin.
I'm not even sure Toph was telling the Truth about Lin's dad anyway, felt to me like she didn't wanna say it and made up a name
Noatak and Tarlok are pretty tragic.
Also, some people have the impression that Suyin is a better bender than Lin, she probably isn't that much better, especially not a combat. In the fight the two had, Lin was not in fighting shape. Lin is someone who works a job that has a lot of fighting (and a lot of paperwork). Suyin has a job that doesn't have a lot of fighting (and probably a bit less paperwork).
Lin never had a father and the question about his name was answerd years later for someone else, got two permanent scars in her face she could got hit in the eye or eyes and make her blinde she could get hit on they head and make her go in a coma or dead she could get hit on the throut and died from her own sister and the Police didnt punish her she was told by her mother to not talk about this for the family name and years later the sister and mother are angry becous she is still angry. Korra is just like Lins sister she breaks the law all the time and doesnt get punished. And why does Korras dad hates his Brother the backstory i remember is Korras dad and his friends want to fight a spirit the brother tells them not to but they ignor him try to fight the spirit and lose some died then Korras dad got punished by banishing him and the brother became the Chef and he hates his brother and not himself . Do i remember it wrong? Or is Korra a bitch becaus of her Father?
I like to think of her as the Malory Archer of the crew.
Korra: I prefer to keep my dating life private!
Lin: Please, there's been more pens on that company ink then a...a pen store.
Lin may have one of the most tragic backstories (I still think Kuvira also had one), but not of the whole franchise. In ATLA Azula wins (in general, both franchises) hands down.