This episode is available in the Avatar Book 2: Earth, Volume 4 DVD, along with, Appa's Lost Days, The Earth King, The Guru, and The Crossroads of Destiny. (edit) Character Debuts: Quon (edit) Ironically, "Laogai" is a term for prison in Chinese, which makes the name, Lake Laogai, "Prison Lake". (edit) According to Nick.com, Old Sweepy is a spy for the Dai Li and helps keep order among the people by spreading rumors. (edit) Sang-Jin Kim won a Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Achievement for his work on this episode. (edit) This episode was nominated for an award at the PLATFORM International Animation Festival to be held in Portland, Oregon, in late June 2007. (edit) Though fiercely debated, it is eventually revealed in a March 2007 interview with co-creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko that Jet did not survive. (edit) Iroh is the third person we've seen discover the identity of the Blue Spirit. The first was Aang and the second was Zhao. (edit) The Dai Li wear a kind of stone shoe, similar to the stone gloves seen in City of Walls and Secrets. (edit) The mystery of how Joo Dee, in City of Walls and Secrets, was a different person is revealed. There are women conditioned in Lake Laogai to act as hostesses, and all are given the name Joo Dee. (edit) References to The Siege of the North (Parts 1 and 2) are made in this episode. (edit) This episode marks the first time we see Jet prior to adolescence. We also learn that it was Colonel Monkge and the other Rough Rhinos who killed Jet's parents and burnt down his home. (edit) In a way, Zuko recalls and returns the favor of Aang saving his life by freeing Appa. (edit) By saying the person’s name followed by, "The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai," Long Feng is able to instantaneously regain control over any brainwashed individual, to the point of reducing them to a trance-like state. (edit) This episode marks the first time where Earthbenders are seen exhibiting the long speculated ability of adhering to vertical surfaces. According to the creators, originally the early concept was that most Earthbenders could use some form of magnetism, but it has since been changed to a higher level technique that only a few can perform, much like lightning is to Firebenders. (edit) This episode marks the first time we've seen an earthbender fight another earthbender since The Blind Bandit. (edit) It is revealed that Katara's healing abilities can apparently also be used to repair mental damages, as she is seen using them to restore some of Jet's lost memory. (edit) The creators stated at the PMX (Pacific Media Expo) that this episode contained, in their opinion, the best fight scene of the series. (edit) For one reason or another, this episode in its entirety begun airing on TurboNick on October 27, 2006, but was taken down days later. (edit) Marks the first time Aang and the gang are seen actively searching for Appa since their arrival in Ba Sing Se. (edit) This episode's premiere was delayed by Nick. In place on October 20, 2006, was a 4 episode marathon featuring the episodes in order: The Drill, City of Walls and Secrets, The Tales of Ba Sing Se, and Appa's Lost Days. (edit) Jet returns in this episode. However, this time Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph see Jet. Toph never met Jet before. The others haven't seen Jet since his attempt to drown a Fire Nation-controlled town in the Earth Kingdom in the season one episode Jet. (edit)

Long Feng: (refering to Jet) Foolish boy. You've chosen your own demise. (edit) Katara: (To Jet) You're lying!
Toph: He's not lying.
Sokka: How can you tell?
Toph: I can feel his breathing and heartbeat. When people lie, there's a physical reaction. He's telling the truth. (edit) Jet: I think there might be a cell big enough to hold Appa up ahead. (stops before a sealed stone door) I think it's through here. (doorway slides opens)
Zuko: Expecting someone else? (edit) Katara: Aang, It'll take us weeks just to get to the tip of the Earth Kingdom. And then we'll need to find a boat to get to the island.
Aang: (standing) I don't care. We have a chance to find Appa. We have to try. (edit) Jet: They took me to a head-quarters under the water, like a lake.
Sokka: Wait! Remember what Joo Dee said? She said she took a vacation to Lake Laogai.
Jet: (jumping to his feet) That's it! Lake Laogai. (edit) Long Feng (to Appa): I can handle you by myself! (edit) Iroh: So I was thinking about names for my new teashop. How about... the Jasmine Dragon. It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it.
Zuko (Lost Appa flier in hand): The Avatar is here in Ba Sing Se, and he's lost his bison.
Iroh (takes flier, to Zuko): We have a chance for a new life here, if you start stirring up trouble we could lose all the good things that are happening for us.
Zuko (suddenly, angrily): Good things that are happening for you. Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?
Iroh: There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I suggest you think about what it is you want from your life, and why.
Zuko: I want my destiny.
Iroh: What that means is up to you. (Zuko walks off screen, moments later) The Tea Weevil! No, that's stupid. (edit) Sokka (looks up to see Dai Li agents hanging from ceiling): Now that's something different. (edit) Long Feng: Jet, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai.
(Jet's pupils widen, leaving only a little bit of iris.)
Jet (monotone): I am honored to accept his invitation.
(Jet attacks Aang.) (edit) Toph: We're finally leaving Ba Sing Se! (puts up her arms) Worst City Ever! (edit) Sokka: I got it! (Takes a piece of hay, sticks it in Jet's mouth and waits)
Jet: I don't think it's working. (Spits hay out of mouth) (edit) Aang (to Jet): Where did they take you?
Jet: Nowhere! I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!
Aang: We need to find a way to jog his real memories.
Sokka (jokingly): Maybe Katara should kiss him. That should bring something back.
Katara (angrily): Maybe you should kiss him, Sokka.
Sokka: Hey, just an idea.
Aang: A bad one. (edit) Sokka: Alright, let's get moving.
Jet: I’ll come with you.
Katara: We don’t need your help.
Jet: Why won’t you trust me?
Katara (to herself, crossing her arms and turning her nose up): Gee, I wonder.
Toph: Was this guy your boyfriend or something?
Katara: What! (Turning her head the other way) No!
Toph (in a sing song voice): I can tell you’re lying. (edit) Jet: Katara?
(Katara gasps, seeing Jet)
Jet: I think I can help you.
(Katara becomes angry and begins to waterbend)
Jet: Katara, I've changed!
(Katara furiously sends a large wave of water smashing into Jet then picks up more water)
Katara: Tell it to some other girl, Jet. (edit) Zuko (Standing next to the chained Appa): Uncle?
Iroh (Entering the room): So, the Blue Spirit? (sarcastically) I wonder who could be behind that mask?
Zuko: What are you doing here?
Iroh: I was just about to ask you the same thing. What do you plan to do now that you've found the Avatar's bison? Keep it locked in our new apartment? Should I go put on a pot of TEA for him?!
Zuko: First I have to get it out of here.
Iroh: And then WHAT?! You never think these things through! 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've figured something out.
Iroh: No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!
Zuko (growling): 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! Its time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions: Who are you and what do you want?
(Zuko growls in anger and confusion) (edit) Smellerbee: You guys go find Appa. We'll take care of Jet.
Katara: We're not leaving you.
Longshot: There's no time. Just go. We'll take care of him. He's our leader.
Jet: (weakly) Don't worry, Katara. I'll be fine.
(The group moves away.)
Toph: (sadly) He's lying. (edit) Joo Dee (smiles): You are absolutely prohibited by the rules of the city to continue putting up posters.
Aang (angrily): We don't care about the rules, and we're not asking permission! We're finding Appa on our own, and you should just stay out of our way!
(Aang slams the door, leaving Joo Dee outside)
Sokka: That might come back to bite us in the blubber.
Aang: I don't care. From now on we do whatever it takes to find Appa.
Toph: Yeah, let's break some rules! (edit) Iroh: Did you hear, Nephew? This man wants to give us our own tea shop, in the upper ring of the city.
Man: That's right, young man. Your life is about to change for the better.
Zuko: I'll try to contain my joy. (edit) (Sokka is drawing Lost Posters for Appa)
Katara: We found a printer to make our posters!
Sokka: Hey, I thought that designing the Lost Appa posters was my job! I've been working all day on my Appa.
(Sokka holds up badly drawn picture of Appa)
Aang: Sokka, the arrow is on Appa's head!
Sokka: This IS his head!
Katara: Why are feet coming out of it?
Sokka: Those are his horns! I haven't seen him in a while, ok?
Toph: It looks just like him to me!
Sokka: Thank you, I worked really... why did you feel the need to do that? (edit) Sokka: Katara, what is it?
Katara: Jet's back. (edit) Long Feng: Joo Dee, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai.
(Joo Dee's pupils widen, leaving only a little bit of iris.)
Joo Dee (monotone): I am honored to accept his invitation.
(Long Feng nods)
Long Feng: Good. Now go await further orders. (edit) Aang: Joo Dee?
Joo Dee: Hello Aang and Katara and Sokka and Toph.
Sokka: What happened to you? Did the Dai Li throw you in jail?
Joo Dee: What? Jail? Of course not. The Dai Li are the protectors of our cultural heritage.
Toph: But you disappeared at the Earth King's party.
Joo Dee: Oh, I simply took a short vacation to Lake Laogai, out in the country. It was quite relaxing.
Katara: But they replaced you with some other woman who said her name was Joo Dee.
Joo Dee: I'm Joo Dee. (edit) Sokka: We'll split up to cover more ground. Toph, I guess you should just come with me.
Toph: Why? Because you think I can't put up posters on my own? (pastes glue, swipes it onto the wall and slams a poster on the wall with the wrong side facing out, pause) It's upside down, isn't it? I'll just go with Sokka. (edit)

When Aang is angry towards Joo Dee, you can see his face turns red and a sign of a face fault (veins into a cross shape). (edit) This is the first episode where we see someone seriously injured or killed by a bending move. Other references would be Zuko's scar, Katara and Sokka's mother, Jet's parents, Gyatsu, the airbenders and anyone else who got in the fire nation's way. (edit) This is the first episode that Jet doesn't feel the need to put a piece of straw or something in his mouth. (edit) At the beginning of the episode, the size of the poster was as big as Aang's hand since we saw him holding the post with only one hand. However, later in the episode, Iroh and Zuko's hands were much smaller comparing to the poster. It's doesn't make sense because Aang's hands can't be bigger than Zuko and Iroh's. (edit) In the episode, Long Feng and the Dai Li used hypnotism to force people listen to their commands. The victims appeared to have a larger pupil, which was impossible, since large pupil meant the eyes weren't even in focus, then Jet wasn't able to complete his attack to Aang at all. Enlarged pupil resembled the person had already dead. (edit) When the Dai Li surround the Gaang outside of Lake Laogi, there are six agents on the side of the cliff. When Aang and Toph earthbend them into the water, there are only five. (edit) Under Lake Laogi, when the Dai Li attack the group, the first two attackers throw ONE rock glove each at Toph. However, when the camera pans back to them, they are both barehanded. (edit) When Long Feng says, "Lets see if we can still handle this quietly" one can see that the green fire he is standing in front of is actually burning crystals found under the city seen in "Crossroads of Destiny." (edit) When the rest of the group arrive after Jet has been hit, the pillar Long Feng used to escape has shifted to the right. It should have been in front of the door. When the Gang walks away from Jet, the door disappears, reappearing when Long Shot takes an arrow out. However, the pillar left by Long Feng has now vanished. (edit) After Jet's trance is broken, he throws one of his weapons at Long Feng and it sticks in the wall. When Long Feng retaliates, the weapon is gone. (edit) When Aang and Jet confront Long Feng, Feng is depicted in front of the door Aang and Jet just entered through. But when Long Feng says, "Jet, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Loagi" the door disappears and does not reappear until the rest of the group returns. (edit) When Jet attacks a Dai Li agent, the agent launches a rock glove at Jet. However, when Jet slides and sweeps the Agent's feet out from under him, the Agent is shown with both hands covered in rock gloves. (edit) The posters that were spread across the city contain the groups address. This creates a plot hole, as when Zuko found the poster he should have been able to go straight to them (though since it was in the upper ring he would've had to wait until they'd moved or snuck past the guards). (edit) When Aang hugs Appa's head, his face is directly on Appa's arrow, but when Aang says "I missed you buddy," there is no brown fur beneath Aang's face. (edit) Look hard: The mother and crying child who Iroh qualmed by singing in Tales of Ba Sing Se can be seen walking past the alley where the group was hanging up posters in before splitting up. (edit) The reed mat beneath the corner of Jet's mattress vanishes and reappears during the scene in Jet's house. (edit) One has to wonder why Katara didn't even make so much as an attempt to utilize the vial of water drawn from the spirit oasis that she received from Master Pakku in The avatar state. It hasn't been seen since the book two premiere episode, The Avatar State. (edit) When the gang finds out about Whaletail Island, and Aang says "We have to get to Whaletail island! Where's Whaletail island?". Look in the background at Jet. If you look closely you will realize that he has a piece of grass in his mouth like the one when the gang first met him. But he didn't have it before or after that. (edit) When the gang discover that Jet has returned, everybody's mouths drop except Katara and Sokka. Why would Toph open her mouth if she has no idea who Jet is? She has never met him and has no reason to be surprised when Jet arrives. (edit) When drawing pictures of Appa, Sokka uses his left hand. But in The Library Sokka wrote down the date of the solar eclipse with his right hand. Then again, he could be ambidextrous. (edit) The Appa fliers appear to change size throughout this episode. (edit) When the rest of the gang runs up to find Katara and Jet in the beginning, Aang is cross-eyed. (edit) In the episode City of Walls and Secrets, the Dai Li were able to take Jet down in seconds. However, in this episode, he has no problem with fighting them. Considering their outnumbering as well as their success against them in them in the past, the group is able to defeat the Dai Li a bit too easily overall, even after two of their best fighters have been removed. (edit) When Katara launches a water wave at Jet, the swords at his sides dissappear from his sides. After that, they are suddenly in his hands. His swords are also gone when they go to the barn Appa was kept in, and when they attempt to bring his memory back. (edit)

Lake Laogai may be another allusion to George Orwell's 1984. Lake Laogai is where the Dai Li brainwashes people and takes prisoners, very similar to the way the Thought Police took people to the Ministry of Love to punish them for speaking out, and to brainwash them into loving Big Brother. (edit) Quon's name appears to be a spelling variant of the Mandarin word, "kuan," which translates to "funds." The name coincides with the merchant's wealthy persona as well as his proposal to fund Iroh's tea shop. (edit) When Long Feng regains control of the hypnotized victims, the pupils become supernaturally enlarged. Like almost any brainwashed victim, their eyes can tell the viewers that they are being mind-controlled. Specifically, the technique used here is exclusive to Japanese anime due to its attention to detail on the eyes. (edit) The concept of a secret lair beneath a lake and even some of the scenes in the tunnels are vaguely similar to X2: X-Men United and its Alkali Lake. The method of Katara using her bending to help Jet retrieve his memories also resembled the way Jean Gray used her abilities to help Nightcrawler remember the location of lake in the movie. (edit) The Dai Li agents are first encountered hanging upside-down from chains in the ceiling. This is similar to how the Guardians in Kurosowa's Samurai 7 are first introduced in the anime. (edit) The base under Lake Laogai is like a D.U.M.B., a Deep Underground Military Base, with a hidden entrance, which the public has little or no knowledge of, like the ones alledgedly used by the United States military all over the world in Top Secret activities. (edit) The way the Dai Li agents run after the gang, race up walls and hang from the ceiling in the darkness of the Lake Laogai prison is creepily similar to the way the orcs pursued Frodo and the Fellowship through the mines of Moria in Lord Of The Rings. (edit) When the gang is on their way out Toph says 'Worst city ever.' This is an allusion to the popular Simpson character, the uber-geek Jeff Albertson, more commonly known as the "Comic Book Store Guy". He is often found saying 'worst (anything) ever.' (edit) Yet another reference to the blind Marvel Comic superhero is made through Toph. In that she is able tell by means of vibrations if someone close is having alterations in his biorhythm, thus allowing her to infer if a person is lying in a similar manner to how Stan Lee's blind superhero DareDevil does. (edit) When the gang looks down the shaft that leads to the base under Lake Laogai, this looks almost exactly like the hatch from Lost. (edit) Katara and Sokka are seen playing the Solitaire-like game we first saw Iroh playing in Boy in the Iceberg. (edit) The phrase "The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai" is a retrieval cue to those brainwashed by the Dai Li. It activates a trance-like state in which the victim is subject to the command of the one who said it. This type of mind programming was suggested in the novel The Manchurian Candidate and was further explored upon by Dean Koontz's False Memory. (edit) The "Help The Avatar Find Appa" fliers that were posted around the Avatar Comic Con 2006 Panel are seen and used in this episode. (edit) In the title the name Laogai is a abbreviation for Laodong Gaizao which means "reform through labor," and refers to the use of prison labor in the People's Republic of China, which is similar to the Soviet Gulag. (edit)