Jar Jar Binks gets a lot of criticism. He’s widely considered the worst thing in the prequel trilogy, has been accused of being a racist caricature, and for all but the very youngest viewers, his slapstick antics just aren’t funny. But is Jar Jar Binks really that bad?
The answer is a conclusive yes, he’s a flippered nightmare. We recently rewatched The Phantom Menace for the first time in years and Jar Jar was even more detestable than we’d remembered. Sorry, Ahmed Best, you seem like a nice guy but some things are just unforgivable.
But Jar Jar’s influence on the Skywalker saga isn’t merely playing a part in defeating the Trade Federation on Naboo. A post on r/StarWars comes to the belated realization that Jar Jar’s proposal that Chancellor Palpatine be granted emergency powers to fight the separatists is one of the most consequential moments in galactic history. Palpatine would never give up those powers, meaning we can lay every crime the Empire ever committed on Jar Jar’s shoulders. As we’re sure he’d say, “meesa sowwy!”
Interestingly, we actually know what canonically happened to Jar Jar thanks to the book Aftermath: Empire’s End. The Gungans once again exiled him for aiding the Empire and he was shunned by the people of Naboo for bringing so much misery into the galaxy. Jar Jar was then forced to eke out a living as a street performer, though he faced endless abuse from the citizens of Theed for his crimes. As he himself put it: “Desa hisen Naboo tink I help the uh-oh Empire. Me no know.”
Just reading that bit of dialogue makes us hate him that much more. But hey, with Disney and Lucasfilm now strip mining the prequel trilogy for inspiration could we see the live-action return of Jar Jar on Disney Plus? Please lord no. Leave Jar Jar in the Star Wars character trash can.
