We have seen time and time again how far Lin is willing to go to protect Republic City, but this episode demonstrated just how far she is willing to go in order to protect Tenzin. Despite the fact that he has moved on and created a life with someone else, Lin still loves him all these years later. It’s arguable whether or not that love is romantic or simply a deep friendship, but the love itself cannot be debated. It’s not just in the end, when she gives herself over to Amon and refuses to give him information - it’s in the fact that she agrees to protect Air Temple Island and take care of Tenzin’s children that in another life, could’ve been hers. Lin spends this entire episode sacrificing herself both for Tenzin and for the greater good, and that’s why its closing scenes are so heartbreaking: Lin Beifong, the daughter of the greatest earthbender who ever lived, is forced to kneel before a tyrant. And when offered a chance to save a crucial part of her being, she rejects it outright, refusing to give up the people she cares about. And then Amon takes her bending away.