Joo Dee

"You're in Ba Sing Se now. Everyone is safe here."

— Joo Dee to Team Avatar.[1]

Joo Dee was one of a number of public servants in Ba Sing Se using the same name who had been brainwashed by the Dai Li to be a guide for important visitors to the city. Her robotic, cheery demeanor, mechanical mannerisms, and tendency to hold the party line when talking about the official political practices of Ba Sing Se were all the result of brainwashing by the Dai Li. Their primary purpose was to neutralize unwanted outside influences.^[2] Joo Dee once served as a caretaker and tour guide for Aang and his companions after their arrival in the city.^[1] She later served as Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator to the city, a position that was created after the Coup of Ba Sing Se.^[3]

Quick Answers

What was the purpose of Joo Dee's brainwashing by the Dai Li?

The Dai Li brainwashed Joo Dee to neutralize unwanted external influences in Ba Sing Se and maintain the illusion that the city was unaffected by the ongoing war. She would hold the party line when talking about the official political practices of Ba Sing Se, whatever the situation, and acted as a guide for any important visitors to the city.

Provided by: Community

How did Joo Dee's brainwashing affect her behavior and mannerisms?

The Dai Li's brainwashing of Joo Dee gave her a robotic demeanour and mechanical mannerisms, causing her to maintain a constant cheerful smile even in negative situations. When the presence of Aang and his companions in the city were revealed, her cheerful demeanour slipped, revealing instead despair and fear and leading her to be replaced with another woman also named Joo Dee. However, after being rehypnotised, she regained her cheerful manner, claiming of her disappearance that she had simply taken a vacation to Lake Laogai.

Provided by: Community

What role did Joo Dee play when Aang and his companions visited Ba Sing Se?

Joo Dee served as a guide for Aang and his companions, constantly handling the group during their tour of the city and dismissing their request to see the Earth King, despite the important information they had regarding the war. She also prevented any of the citizens from revealing anything to the group, scaring them into compliance with her broad smile.

Provided by: Community

What happened to Joo Dee after her service as a tour guide?

After serving as a guide for Aang's group in Ba Sing Se, Joo Dee became the Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator, a position created after the Coup of Ba Sing Se. Despite her robotic cheerfulness, she successfully hindered Aang's team from discovering the Earth King and Appa's whereabouts.

Provided by: Community

History

This Joo Dee first appeared to be a stereotypically vapid and ignorant tour guide. Despite the fact that Team Avatar had information regarding the war against the Fire Nation, she constantly "handled" the entire group into following her tour, promising them an audience with the Earth King within six to eight weeks. She showed no change in personality when Team Avatar responded negatively to her bad news and was constantly smiling, giving her a somewhat eerie demeanor. When Aang and the group went searching for Appa and information about the war, Joo Dee hung back from the others, ever-smiling. When Sokka asked a question that got close to the truth, Joo Dee would smile broadly and shake her head at whoever was under interrogation, eliciting a withdrawn and scared reaction from the person. When Team Avatar crashed the Earth King's party, Joo Dee urged them to leave lest they all be in trouble. She attempted to usher them out, but by doing so, she inadvertently caused Aang to spill the contents of the jug he was carrying over one of the noble women and subsequently expose himself as the Avatar. When all the party guests became aware of Aang's presence, Joo Dee's perpetual smile melted into something closer to despair and fear.^[1]

After meeting with Long Feng, Aang and company were to be escorted home by Joo Dee, but they were shocked to see a different woman with the same name and eerie smile who claimed to be Joo Dee in place of the guide they had initially met.^[1] The original Joo Dee reappeared later, claiming her disappearance was because she took a vacation to Lake Laogai. When her efforts to prevent Aang and his friends from searching for Appa failed, a distraught Joo Dee appeared before Long Feng, one of the few times she showed any emotion other than happiness. She was promptly rehypnotized by Long Feng. Later, Team Avatar discovered that the Dai Li brainwashed many women into becoming Joo Dees, and may have considered them to be interchangeable.^[4]

Following the Coup of Ba Sing Se and her imminent return to the Fire Nation, Azula placed one of the Joo Dees in charge of Ba Sing Se as Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator. According to the princess, she was the "perfect" person for the job.^[3]

Appearances

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book Two: Earth (土)

• 214. "City of Walls and Secrets"
• 217. "Lake Laogai"

Avatar comics

Book Two: Earth (土)

• Iss. #13. "Going Home Again"

Avatar games

• Avatar: The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance

Trivia

• Joo Dee's design and personality was based on Miken Wong, the line producer for the show.^[5][6]
• Joo Dee's name sounds like 주둥이, a Korean term to call someone who has a big mouth or someone who does not shut up.
• Joo Dee did once show signs of free will when talking to Long Feng regarding her failure to handle Team Avatar. She attempted to explain that she could not work well under the conditions, meaning that she possibly took the job of her own free will, though it was revealed that she had been brainwashed like the other Joo Dees, as Long Feng was able to convince her to continue taking charge of Team Avatar, utilizing the code phrase "the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai".

References