Joo Dee
From Avatar Wiki, the Avatar: The Last Airbender database
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| Joo Dee | |
| Biographical information | |
| Nationality | Earth Kingdom |
| Physical description | |
| Gender | Female |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Personal Information | |
| Allies | Azula, the Dai Li, Fire Lord Ozai |
| Enemies | Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph more... |
| Chronological and political information | |
| Profession |
Government Official |
| Position |
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| Affiliation |
Fire Nation |
| First Appearance | |
| Voiced By | Lauren Tom |
Joo Dee is an official of Ba Sing Se, once serving as a caretaker and tour guide for Aang and his companions after their arrival in the city. She served as Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator to the city, a position created after the Fire Nation's invasion. This position was likely abolished after the Order of the White Lotus took back the city.
[edit] History
Joo Dee first appears to be a stereotypically vapid and ignorant tour guide, despite the fact that Sokka has information regarding the war against the Fire Nation, she constantly "handles" the entire group into following her tour, promising them audience with the Earth King of Ba Sing Se within six to eight weeks. When Aang and the group go searching for Appa and information dealing with the war on the Fire Nation, Joo Dee hangs back from the others, ever-smiling. When Sokka asks a question that gets close to the truth, Joo Dee will smile broadly and shake her head at the person under interrogation, which elicits a withdrawn, scared reaction from them. When Aang and the group crash the Earth King's party in a botched attempt to alert him of the solar eclipse that causes Firebenders to lose their bending power, Joo Dee urges them to leave before they are caught; but when Aang is exposed as the Avatar, her perpetual smile melts into something closer to hopeless despair. [1]
After meeting with Long Feng, Aang and company are to be escorted home by Joo Dee, but they are shocked to see that a doppelgänger with the same name and eerie smile has taken the place of the Joo Dee they first met. This suggests that the totalitarian government of Ba Sing Se has covered up all traces of the original woman's existence because she failed at escorting the Avatar properly. Later it is revealed that the Dai Li brainwashes many women into becoming Joo Dees. [2]
In the canonical Avatar comic "Going Home Again", it is revealed that Azula has placed Joo Dee in charge of Ba Sing Se as Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator following the fall of the city. According to Azula, she was the "perfect" person for the job. It was never stated what became of all the other Joo Dees.
The War ended with Ozai's overthrow and Ba Sing Se's liberation. Joo Dee was likely removed from her position and the office of Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator abolished and returned to her previous life peacefully.
[edit] Trivia
- According to the commentary for "City of Walls and Secrets", Joo Dee is based on Miken Wong, the Line Producer for the show.
- In a real-world parallel, North Korea requires that all foreign visitors to Pyongyang be attended to by state guides at all times.
- Joo Dee sounds rather similar to Judy, and is possibly a reference to the common name. It also brings to mind the name Judas. In shepherding, a Judas is a goat who has been trained to lead sheep and cattle from one place to another (grazing fields, pens, slaughter, etc.) Of course, if the Judas proves ineffective at leading other livestock, it gets slaughtered.
