#lake laogai

[oneatlatime]

Lake Laogai

This Lake had better have Appa in it. With little water wings on.

Skipping the commentary as usual.

The Previously On section suggests that a whole lot of plot threads are about to crash into each other. Strap in folks.

Lefty Sokka!

Beat up Sokka quota fulfilled by his sister's critique of his art skills. It's not like he had paper to practice with at the South Pole.

Sometimes I forget that Aang is 12, then he does something like attempt to rescue his pet from a nefarious city-wide conspiracy of silence with lost cat posters.

"Good tea is its own reward." That means no, he isn't paid enough.

Remember what I said in my last post about Iroh bringing too much attention to himself?

"senior executive assistant manager" someone on the writing team has worked retail I see. Nothing like meaningless promotions with no raise attached! It's right up there with employee pizza party.

I have to pause here and point something out. This whole scene with Iroh? This is an adult fantasy. I don't mean dirty, I mean this whole scene was put in specifically to appeal to the adults who got roped in to watching this kids' show by their children. A rich man walks through the door of your shitty retail job, immediately spots your natural greatness, and offers you a much better paying job with unlimited creative freedom and a better house to go with it? Find me a burnt out retail worker who hasn't conjured up this fantasy five times a shift.

And so the plots come crashing back together. This won't end badly.

"patience really pays off" I checked. He waited literally three seconds.

Shout out to Toph in the background playing catch with a ball she can't see. Casual flex of epic proportions.

Remind me never to go to Lake Laogai. Sounds like it's lousy with Ju Dees.

So the Ju Dees don't know about each other? Because she seems honestly confused. Does Ju Dee think she's the only Ju Dee? What happens if two Ju Dees run into each other in the street?

Posters are illegal but I haven't heard a peep about recarving a bunch of fields into a zoo.

This is maybe the second time Aang's blown up over Appa. Frankly he deserves more blow ups about the whole situation.

I don't think knocking down walls will help find Appa, but I applaud Toph's spirit.

They took out a whole wall and then exit by the door anyways. That's funny.

I really hate this guy, but I have to admit that he may be the first truly competent villain of the series.

'The Jasmine Dragon' also lets anyone with half a brain know that you're Fire Nation. Try the Jasmine Badgermole instead.

Zuko really can't catch a break, huh? He wasn't happy being a tea server, but at least he was resting. But every time he gets five minutes to himself, the main plot reappears to drag him back into the action, whether he wants to or not. Although he hasn't figured out that he doesn't want to be dragged back yet.

Every line of dialogue in this scene is a good point. Zuko's right, Iroh's right. The Zuko's right again, then Iroh's right again.

YES YES YES GET HIS ASS

That was satisfying!

I'm not understanding why Sokka is the voice of reason here. Is he incapable of holding a grudge? He's the one that had all the animosity with Jet to begin with. Shouldn't it be Aang who wants to hear him out?

Toph is a living lie detector now? I can't think of an example off the top of my head, but I'm sure that could have come in handy previously. Any other incredibly useful skills we should know about?

Jet is oddly defensive for someone who claims to know he did wrong.

Ever get so excited that your spine malfunctions?

Sokka just has a metre long map in his pocket. Good friend to have in a pinch.

Avatar first! Katara is rude to an old person!

I'm going to have fun with Toph's new ability.

Toph, you have never been more right. It is the worst city ever. You are really shining this episode.

I know this is a serious scene, but I need to point out that Jet's guyliner is on point.

This shot is jarringly out of place. I think it's because it both black and white, and live action. Those have to be real clouds.

So the Blue Spirit can talk after all. Careful, your Zuko is showing.

Wow Zuko is good at sewing. And fast too.

Sokka is having far too much fun with this whole 'prompt Jet's memory' thing. Maybe he does have a bit of a grudge after all.

Katara can reverse brainwashing now too? Everyone's levelling up this episode.

This scene with the planks is a very cool and disorienting visual.

Didn't have 'the gaang breaks into a brainwashing facility' on my ATLA bingo card.

Pretty.

OMIGOD IT'S AP- did Zuko just break the fourth wall?

Everyone always forgets to look up.

So this fight is going to be Toph v. all of the Dai Li while everyone else tries not to get in Toph's way.

That's a boat.

Toph could probably take all these guys out faster if she wasn't having to constantly break off to save everyone else from them.

The Dai Li prancing up walls is a really cool visual. It's very Ty Lee of them.

I love watching her work.

Why don't you let Long Feng escape? He's no longer threatening you, and you're down there to rescue Appa. Just let him go.

The security on Lake Laogai is a joke.

Big words from someone who also had no plan whatsoever at the North Pole.

Zuko knows that Iroh's right. He knows, and that's important. I don't think Iroh is saying anything that Zuko hasn't thought and then hurriedly pretended to have never thought about before. It's why he says 'stop it' rather than being completely confused as to what Iroh is referring to.

Poor Appa's like 'can you have a crisis of self after you free me please?'

'You've chosen your own demise." No. You chose it for him. That's some top tier deflection/victim blaming right there.

Longshot can talk!

That's one hell of a set up and pay off re: Toph's lie detecting abilities.

Poor Jet. A double tragedy: to be likeable only when you're brainwashed, and to dedicate your life to wiping out the Fire Nation yet being killed by the Earth Kingdom.

Hi Appa. It's about time buddy.

Shockingly in character for Appa's first actions to be to single handedly save the Gaang from a threat.

You skip that bastard like a stone.

Everyone go and listen to the sound Appa makes when he spits out Long Feng's shoe. It's delightful.

I am framing this.

And this too.

I can tell there's some shmymbolism here, but it's gone right over my head.

Final Thoughts

Appa is back. The Gaang has Appa back. I have Appa back. Ok. I can relax now. With any luck, this means we can leave Ba Sing Se.

This episode felt like City of Walls and Secrets, Part 2. I think it was a good decision to have a couple of episodes between the two, but I think there would be some tonal whiplash if you binged this section of season 2. Which wouldn't have been a problem for a show designed to air once a week, so it's a moot point.

So Zuko freed Appa from his chains, and presumably pointed him in the direction of a door or something. Or maybe not; Appa has a ridiculously hard head, he could have busted his way out. Either way, Zuko broke the chains. Thanks Zuko!

In season 1, Zuko finds the Avatar the world had lost. In season 2, Zuko finds the Sky Bison the Avatar had lost. So in season 3, Zuko will find something Appa has lost. I wonder what that will be?

Jet being killed by the Earth Kingdom is so deliciously ironic, and tragic, yet very in character for the Earth Kingdom's approach to this war. It's also literally this:

Smellerbee and Longshot have really gotten the short end of the stick over and over this season. They were the only ones to decide to stick with Jet. Presumably they were the only ones who believed that he had had a legitimate change of heart. And they were kind of wrong. They get to Ba Sing Se only for Jet to immediately backslide way past even where he was at his worst in Season 1. He completely discounts and dismisses their legitimate concerns for his methods and his overall health. Then Jet gets arrested and disappears for two (?) weeks. So what do they do now? Get jobs? Steal so they don't starve? Then suddenly Jet's back but he doesn't even remember them. Then suddenly Jet's dead. The whole point of coming to Ba Sing Se just died, in a way that shows very clearly that their desire to help with the war is not welcome at all in the city. So what now? Do they leave and try to fight in the war from outside the walls? Do they settle down and try to forget about the war? Things did spiral completely out of Jet's control once the Dai Li got involved, but you have to admit that he's left his only remaining friends up a creek.

Sokka had some good jokes but was oddly ok with this episode's events. Toph had some great lines and got to shine with a new skill that any writer with half a brain will bring back in future episodes. She felt like the audience substitute this episode, which is usually Sokka's role. Toph was episode MVP for sure. Poor Aang took a bit of a back seat this episode. Zuko finally hit the crisis point, and may well have made his first indisputably correct decision of the series. But, as previous episodes have gone out of their way to show me that Zuko being good always goes badly for Zuko, I'm sure freeing Appa will somehow come back to bite him.

Iroh's question of "who are you? And what do you want?" was Zuko's entire character arc this season. He took a shot at answering the "who are you?" portion in Zuko Alone, and sort of halfway got there before messing up at the end of the episode. As for the "what do you want?" Zuko will tell you (often and repeatedly) that he wants his honour back. But I think he just wants to go home. The thing is, I strongly suspect that the home Zuko wants to return to hasn't existed since his mother left, if it ever existed at all. Which means that while "who are you?" has an answer Zuko can work towards, "what do you want?" has an answer that is kind of impossible. So Zuko is going to have to learn to want something new.

RIP Jet. Your life was fucked to Hell long before you were old enough to try and salvage it. You'll probably be missed by more people than you strictly deserve. War sucks, amirite?

[unicornwithachainsaw83]

I just want to take a minute to talk about this moment in the Lake Laogai episode of Avatar.

There are so many brainwashed women and there’s no way they did this voluntarily. I only thought about it recently, but all those women probably have families somewhere that they don’t even remember. They probably have families looking for them, unless the Dai Li brainwashed they’re family into forgetting about them.

The concept of the Dai Li is a lot more fucked than I initially thought when I first watched this.

[sokkastyles]

The good act that caused Zuko to be at war with himself spiritually under lake laogai wasn’t just choosing not to capture Appa in pursuit of Aang - which is not necessarily a good act, just the absence of a bad one - but setting Appa free from the captivity of the Dai Li. This goes beyond Zuko’s quest for the Avatar and into Zuko’s basic empathy, the thing that got him banished from the Fire Nation in the first place. It’s also different from when he chooses not to pursue the gaang to help Iroh. In fact, by returning Aang’s method of travel, he’s actively hindering his own quest, when he could have saved himself some trouble pursuing Aang just by leaving Appa there. Zuko makes the choice to free a living creature because it’s the right thing to do, because it didn’t deserve to be chained. It’s also hard not to notice the symbolism of that action, the ways that Zuko is beginning to break his metaphorical chains. Once he begins to loosen those tethers to his father, is it any wonder that he finds himself adrift?

[swan2swan]

Oh.

People don't get the fact that Jet was killed by the Earth Kingdom government and died (along with Smellerbee and Longshot) in an unmarked grave beneath a lake.

They don't see the irony.

[lqzuko]

[bearsandbeansart]

Lyrics from All Cats Are Grey by The Cure.

Every time I listen to this song, Jet's death is all I can think about.

[take-that-you-rock]

One Scene from Every Episode

2.17 Lake Laogai

37/61

[juniperhillpatient]

Lake Laogai

It's not even remotely a secret that I'm incapable of being unbiased or objective about this episode. I love Jet, & I think killing him off was a huge mistake & a waste. I wrote a post explaining in more detail why I specifically think that Jet's death was a writing mistake HERE.

This re-watch has been interesting because it's really nice to re-watch a fave show & re-evaluate my opinions after spending a lot of time engaging with the fandom. I don't know, maybe it's just my annoyance with the fandom's pushing for a Katara/Aang/Zuko love triangle but this re-watch has made me take a firm stance that Jet should've lived, & become part of the Gaang, & dated Katara. "But Rose, don't you prefer Katara with girls?" I mean yeah, I like to write that more, but I'm talking about what I think should've happened in the actual show, which is entirely separate.

[ID: two pictures from different angles of Katara & Jet in the streets of Ba Sing Se]

Katara & Jet have the whole contentious complicated past & I'm always gonna be a sucker for the dynamic where the girl is violently angry & the guy is just like "I'm so sorry I've changed please accept me" like, I'm just being honest that's a good dynamic. Jet's already pretty strong redemption arc could've been concreted & we could've had a new, needed perspective in the Gaang from someone who was a victim of colonization in a similar way to Katara & Sokka but with a very different experience & reaction.

I will try not to spend this whole post being salty though, that's why I made a separate post. The brainwashing under Lake Laogai is very creepy, & it is one of the aspects of the show that stuck with me the most upon first viewing & for good reason. All the Joo Dees speaking in unison is genuinely terrifying. Long Feng is also a well-written villain. He's sly, manipulative, & just creeps me out.

The other thing that I wanted to ponder on with this episode is Zuko saving Appa, & Zuko & Iroh's discussion. I want to make it clear that I think Zuko's redemption arc is incredibly well-written overall. I only criticize Avatar because I love it so much & have thought about it so much. There are a lot of popular Avatar hot takes on Tumblr about how Zuko's redemption arc is poorly written, nonexistent, or whatever, & I simply strongly disagree. I have to get that out of the way & be clear about it or I'll worry I'm being misinterpreted. I also like Iroh, although I feel like I don't always understand what's going on with him & this episode is an example. That's another thing I wanted to clarify because I don't want to come across as anti-Iroh. I don't know, maybe I worry too much about how I come across lol but anyway -

Iroh: And then what!? You never think these things through! [Points at him.] This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole! You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!

Zuko: I would have figured something out!

Iroh: No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death! Zuko I know my own destiny, Uncle! Iroh Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you? Zuko Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!

This scene specifically & the entire framing of Zuko's unhappiness about the teashop is very interesting. I have said before that I dislike Zuko as Firelord in the end, but that's not necessarily a firm stance...I guess I just dislike the inconsistency with how it was built up. Others who are willing to be much harsher than I am have often pointed out that Zuko went from following his father's orders & vision to following Iroh's vision of his destiny, & I think there's some truth to that. But what bothers me more than that, is that we don't actually get firm foreshadowing on what Iroh's vision for Zuko's destiny even is.

This is the first time we see Iroh really yell at Zuko & go off on him but it's unclear what he wants from Zuko. I mean, okay, he wants Zuko to be happy serving tea. I guess that's fine, but it doesn't quite work knowing that later, Iroh completely does a 180 on this stance & it's sorta like...What happened? Ya know? It's just inconsistent. And characters can be inconsistent, people change their minds, but we're not really given much information about Iroh's internal struggle concerning what he wants from his nephew so it just comes across as confusing to me.

Zuko's character arc is all about discovering what it is that he wants & acting on it. I've said before that my issue with Zuko's ending on the show is that Zuko always wanted to be Firelord & then he....becomes Firelord. That's not really a change? This scene between Zuko & Iroh feels like it was building to something larger with Zuko's arc, but it really....isn't.

That said, I do love Appa's return! Aang & Appa's reunion & Appa getting to be a badass is just amazing.

[ID: two pictures of Aang & Appa hugging, one from up close & one from a bit of a distance.]

I definitely enjoyed Appa's reunion with the Gaang the most out of all the parts of this episode.

Well, I enjoyed Jet's parts up until his death too. I also wanted to point out that Sokka teases Katara about her thing with Jet, but doesn't seem that angry at Jet himself & is quite willing to give him another chance. And it's Aang who breaks Jet out of his brainwashing by reminding him that they are friends. So, Katara is not the only one in the Gaang with any connection with Jet. Again, they should've addressed --- ah, whatever, I'm done.

That's all I have for this episode.

[gunnamarta]

Remember when Avatar the Last Airbender had a whole arc critiquing the MK ultra project?

[kj-ursa]

building your FBI fortress underneath the place mentioned in your sleeper agent trigger phrase is beyond a rookie mistake tbqh.

whoever approved that construction project and/or the trigger phrase gotta be a fire nation double agent.

[themoonandocean-spirit]

Zuko: I know my own destiny, Uncle.

Iroh: Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?

Zuko: Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!

Iroh: I’m begging you Prince Zuko! It’s time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions: Who are you? And what do YOU want?

Season 2 Ep.17 The Earth King

[theowritesfiction]

'Lake Laogai'

I think this is the first episode where Sokka's artistic 'skills' are really addressed. Okay, I'll admit, it's a genuinely funny comic relief Sokka moment.

I'm a bit upset at Iroh for having zero loyalty to the man who hired him and Zuko, two refugees off the street. Not saying he shouldn't have accepted the Upper Ring offer, but he was kind of a dick about it. 10 Jerk Points.

I'm really curious about the game Katara and Sokka were playing. I wonder if anyone knows what it was.

I get that Aang is frustrated about being stymied by the Dai Li and their bureaucracy, but Toph lashing out and destroying a part of the house is just... dumb? You live there, dumbass. Just destroy someone else's house. 20 Jerk Points.

Long Feng is a clever villain, despite his eventual demise. Him acknowledging that he can't confront the Avatar directly is a smart strategic realization. Misdirecting the Gaang to leave Ba Sing Se and go all the way back to South Pole to look for Appa is a great plan, actually. He couldn't have known about Jet's connection to Smellerbee and Longshot.

Guess who's back? Back again? Jet is back. Tell Katara... who is more violent than I remembered her being, but you know what, good for her. I wonder about her blush there. Was it all just from anger? I like to think it was the memory of her crush on Jet. I think it's all but confirmed by Katara's reaction to Toph calling out her lies of having feelings for Jet.

Sokka is pretty clever to realize that Jet has been brainwashed by the Dai Li, although I have to wonder... how did he know that brainwashing even is a thing that exists? There are a lot of interesting little details in the scenes with the Gaang trying to break Jet's conditioning. Aang not liking Sokka's idea that Katara should kiss Jet, whatever, shut up Aang. I had completely missed the detail that it was Mongke and Rough Rhinos who burned down Jet's village. They're Iroh's old buddies, I shouldn't be surprised. Also, I love Katara still deciding to soothe Jet's mind with her bending even if she's deeply mistrustful of him.

The secret HQ of the Dai Li is a scary place. The training of Joo Dee's... what a creepy scene. The Dai Li agents hanging from the cavern ceilings like some kind of creepy bats, that was pretty awesome. You have to admit that Jet is a badass when it comes to a fight. I also like how Long Feng being a very different kind of villain comes across in this scene. As soon as the battle starts to turn, he makes the calculated move to flee.

Iroh confronting Zuko in the catacombs was an interesting scene. Iroh finally has his golden ticket of having an Upper Ring teahouse of his own. He's got it made. He's not going to let his nephew's bullshit ruin his dream, so it's time for some tough love.

Comparing Zuko trying to steal Appa with his kidnapping of Aang at the North Pole was very on point. They are both the worst examples of Zuko's plans. Zuko tries to brush it off as if doing stupid shit has something to do with his 'destiny'.  But I also think Iroh's point about Zuko trying to follow someone else's idea of his destiny would come across better if Iroh himself wasn't pushing the destiny of Zuko serving tea onto his nephew. There really is a huge disconnect between the life that Iroh wants for Zuko and the life Zuko himself wants. Can anyone here see Zuko being happy serving tea? I can't. Iroh seems to be the only one.

Also, doesn't Iroh later embrace Zuko's destiny of becoming the Fire Lord anyway?

I have said that I'm not a big fan of Jetara, absolutely not as endgame, but I still think the way some of Jet's thoughts that helped him break Long Feng's mind control focused on his feelings for Katara was very tragically romantic. Anyway... I have very mixed feelings about Jet's death. No, actually I hate it. We've seen Katara heal some pretty bad injuries, and Jet didn't look that badly hurt? A part of me is now left thinking that if Longshot and Bee hadn't asked Katara to leave maybe she could have still saved him? Also, uh, she had the spirit water... I wrote an entire 70 chapter story about Katara using it on Zuko in Crystal Catacombs, and being unable to save Aang. It would have made ten times more sense if Katara had used it on Jet, and ugh, I now wish I had written that scenario instead. Honestly, it would have been far more in character for Katara to stay and save Jet. Also, check out the shot of Katara as they fly away. She had real and strong feelings for Jet. I haven't sensed anything remotely strong (romantically) towards Aang up to this point of the story.

Anyway, Appa returns and wipes the floor with the Dai Li. I guess it's something positive at the end of a depressing episode. For mind-controlling Jet and killing him, Long Feng gets 350 Jerk Points.

Jerk Points for Book 2:

Iroh, Long Feng - 560 Azulon - 300 Ursa, General Fong  - 200 Aang - 160 Zuko, Toph - 120 Ozai - 100 Sokka - 70 Bumi, Lao Beifong, King Kuei - 50 Pakku - 30

[marmot-bee-person]

so in an AU where Lu Ten is actually alive and imprisoned under lake laogai or in the crystal catacombs or whatever, what would happen to succession?

wait what if in the fire nation you’re not legally dead until you have a funeral and if incorrect info (say, your grandson is erroneously stated to be dead) is stated during the funeral, the funeral becomes null and void and you’re still legally alive. So Lu Ten being alive makes Azulon legally the fire lord, and ozai had no reign, he’s been illegally leading a country that’s not his.

So Zuko’s not actually banished…

[zukoisgayforsokka]

Zuko character Study, in Ba Sing Se

Ship: Jet/Zuko

Words: 3.3k

Summary: [“We met on the ferry, remember,” Zuko can’t keep the pleading tone from his words. Jet can’t have forgotten him; he’s all Zuko can think about.]

Zuko bumps into Jet after his Dai Li brainwashing. A rewrite of the Ba Sing Se episodes from Zuko's pov, an analysis of his character and motivations

[alllllthebrainrot]

* me being dragged away by the dai li to a covered carriage in the night with my hands bound in rock *

You have to believe me!! There’s a character named Chet in atla I swear!!!!

[mycomfortblanket]

"I really dislike you," // "Oh, so you don't hate me anymore?" Jetkka @krastbannert

It's hard trusting Jet again after everything that they have been through, but the determination on his face as he stares down at a map is making Sokka pause. He seems more adrenalized about finding Appa than the rest of them have felt for a few weeks now. The renewed energy is kind of refreshing. 

"Are you sure you know where to look?" Sokka glances down at the map and back up at Jet's face skeptically. His eyes travel along his jawline and take in the windswept look of his hair. Since the Freedom Fighters found them, Jet has been without the piece of hay in his mouth and he honestly looks better without it. It doesn't pull the gaze away from the way his lips are constantly on the ready to turn up into a smirk nor does it distract from the hungry, predatory gleam that seems to only be in his eyes when he looks at Sokka. 

"I don't know exactly what it is, but trust me, I'll know when I see it," Jet says determinedly, not looking toward him.

"Yeah, trust you. That's something we won't have a problem doing," Sokka hears Katara mutter from across the room and knows that Jet must have also heard it but is seeming to ignore the comment. 

Aang walks up on the other side of Jet's shoulder and looks down at the map as well, confusion furrowing his eyebrows as he looks at the crisscross of the city streets. His eyes drift back up and again, he follows the cut of his jaw and the hunch of his shoulders as he studies the map. Suddenly, Jet's hand shoots down onto the table to point at something causing him to jerk out of his staring situation. He's pointing at a particular street that dead ends at a lake. "Here, Lake Laogai."

"Lake Laogai, yeah, that doesn't sound fake," Katara says sarcastically under her breath but she walks over to look at the map as well. 

"Didn't we go there once? There wasn't anything but a partially dried-up lake and some dead shrubs," Toph calls from the other room. They can hear her digging through the extensively stocked cabinets for some food. Something is continuously crashing to the floor as she continues to search for something particular. 

"It's under the lake," Jet murmurs. 

The crashing in the kitchen stops and a few seconds later, Toph emerges from the kitchen, "I'm sorry, I was in the other room in pursuit of something, I think I misheard. Did he say 'under the lake'?" She asks, disbelief lacing her words. 

~~~

As Toph opens up the tunnel that will take them down to the interconnecting channels of the underground compound, Sokka whistles in appreciation. Already his brain is whirling with the physics that had to go into building something underneath a lake. How strong the stones had to be to ensure that the water above the compound wouldn't collapse the structure. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jet shoot him a smirk, "Told you it was here."

Sokka's appreciation quickly dissipates and is replaced with an annoyed glare that he sends toward Jet, "I really dislike you," he grumbles. 

Jet's smirk deepens and Sokka can feel himself flush from his face down to his chest, "Oh, you don't hate me anymore?"

"Let's just get through this and we can discuss how I actually feel about you," Sokka says, swallowing a little. He looks back over to where everyone is starting to climb down the ladder and into the tunnel when he sees Toph giving him a 'are you serious' look. Shrugging and adverting his gaze, he makes his way over to the ladder. 

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