LogFAQs > #941857465

#19: Lake Laogai (2.17)

A lot of what makes 2.17 good is being a sequel to 2.14, so I wanted to talk about that one first, even though I like that episode more.

This is when the kids make their comeback. After weeks of getting stopped by The Man, they run into Jet, who has been brainwashed. This actually proves to be a flaw in the Dai Li's defenses, because the kids manage to extract the info about Lake Laogai from him, and procceed to invade it. Toph finds the entrance, they break in, and then we are treated to a series of cool action scenes involving the Dai Li, Jet and Team Avatar. And we also see how Joo Dees are made.

Meanwhile, Zuko is having doubts about being Tea Boy, and decides to go in another suicide mission to restore his honor. He eventually runs onto Appa, and then meets his uncle, who was following him all along. Iroh forces him to face a dillema and figure who he really is, and Zuko finally makes a move in the right direction by rescuing Appa. Finally, he throws away the mask of the Blue Spirit, which symbolizes the fact Zuko can't hide behind a mask to make moves against the FN anymore, he must do it out in the open. At least until Azula sets his arc back for half a book.

Team Avatar then defeats the Dai Li, thanks mostly to an epic save by Appa, and manage to escape with him. But Jet stays behind, having been fatally injured. Jet had been given a chance to redeem himself, but he blew it, so the show punishes him with death. It's a very good, and tragic, character arc.

It's an episode that gets to a high position mostly for being cool and being the cathartic pushback against the Dai Li, while also having some interesting character arcs going in the sideline.