Star Wars: Meesa is a Bombad Sith Lord – The Jar Jar Binks Breakdown
Is he the worst character ever written or the secret galactic puppet master? Yousa decide who Jar Jar Binks really is.
Yousa all remember Jar Jar Brinks. Whether you want to or not, he’s impossible to forget. Where Maul was eventually redeemed as an “actually pretty cool” character, Jar Jar saw no eventual fan favor. But did it have to be that way?
Courtesy of Lucas Films
The Origin of Jar Jar Binks
Coming from the underwater city of Otoh Gunga on the planet Naboo, we don’t know much about Jar Jar before Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi happened upon him. He had been recently exiled from his home city by Boss Nass, and before he knew it he was giving the Jedi a guided tour back to the home that wasn’t welcoming him, taking a quick trip through the planet on a Gungan Bongo Submarine, sitting in on trade resolutions, and joining a galactic war.
This took him to Tatooine where Jar Jar was one of the first to meet a young Anakin Skywalker, and eventually back to Naboo, where he was made a General of the Gungan army. He somehow fell into a lucky victory, and so Jar Jar Binks was in the good graces of both Boss Nass and Queen Amidala.
Courtesy of Lucas Films
Ten years later he was made a Representative of the Naboo delegate to the Galactic Senate alongside now Senator Amidala. Unfortunately, his lack of experience and naivety made him an easy target for the manipulative senior politicians. He was used to undermine Padme and was eventually pivotal in giving emergency power to Chancellor Palpatine.
The Clone Wars
Once the Clone Wars began, Jar Jar briefly saw command again. But through most of these years, he stumbled through diplomatic missions and a political career that seemed to be successful despite him. In one example, Binks traveled to Toydaria with Senator Bail Organa, to ask for permission to use the planet as a staging base for resupply. Binks was able to successfully distract members of the Trade Federation while Organa loaded supplies onto his ship in secret.
In the final days of the Republic, Jar Jar Binks still held a prominent position as the Gungan Representative on the Naboo delegation. When Palpatine dissolved the Republic to form the Empire, Jar Jar was present in the Senate Chamber.
Courtesy of Lucas Films
After Amidala’s death, Jar Jar quickly found himself with no friends in the new Imperial galaxy. Gungans saw him as partially responsible for the rise of Palpatine, and he was quickly exiled again. By the time of the New Republic, Binks was working as a street performer and clown for children. However, most Gungans and adults living on Naboo refused to acknowledge him or even say his name.
Fan Theory Version
Despite his grating personality and his habit of failing upwards, there has always been an amount of fandom history centered around Jar Jar Binks. For a time, many fans believed that he was Force-sensitive and the true puppet master of the Republic’s fall. And perhaps this would have made for a better story arc. Jar Jar is a perfect example of the many near-misses in the prequel trilogy. Clearly an important character to the overall story. It’s tragic how impossible his writing made it to like him or find him sympathetic.
Courtesy of Lucas Films
What’s your favorite Jar Jar moment? Do you secretly enjoy Jar Jar Binks or wish he was written out of Star Wars? Would the secret-sith Jar Jar storyline have been better or worse than what we got? Let us know in the comments!
May the Force be with you, adventures!
