5 On 5 Roundtable: Jar Jar Binks

By: Justin Marsh

Once again we are excited to bring you another edition of the 5 on 5 roundtable discussion, courtesy of our friends at Star Wars Geeks Of The World Unite! This week our panel of five fans gives their answers to five questions about everyone's favorite Gungan, Jar Jar Binks!

Our panelists are:

Abe - Video creator on YouTube

Peter Miller - Admin for the Bounty Hunters Unite page

Ben Hart - Social media director for the SWU

Charles Kehler - Admin for the Jedi Unite page

Dario Cordero - Loyal Geeks fan

1. Fact or Fiction: Jar Jar brought down the Republic.

Abe: Jar Jar's role in his speech to give the Chancellor emergency powers not only helped the Chancellor's plan rise but also made the senate respect Palpatine more as a strong leader who could lead them out of that troubled time.

Peter: Fiction. Jar-Jar did have a very minor role in this, but he was just another manipulated pawn of Palpatine’s. His proposition for Emergency Powers only made the elapsed time shorter, if any time at all, since Palpatine could’ve used many other Senators to fulfill his wishes. Compared to other important decisions in that time of the Star Wars timeline, this was a very minor choice. When he chose to give Emergency Powers, he thought that was the best decision for the Republic at that time, and so in his heart, he wanted to do well. He should not be blamed for the Republic’s downfall.

Ben: Gotta say true. Even though he had good intentions, he was manipulated by good o’le Palpy to give him “Emergency Powas”, which led to the Republic’s downfall. And being the good Gungan that he was, he must have regretted it. “Meesa sowwy.” Poor Jar Jar...

Charles: Not only is it his fault that Palpatine was allowed to come into a power as the Emperor, it was his fault the whole thing went down hill in the first place. Think about it, if Jar Jar wouldn't have gotten in Obi-wan and Qui-gon's way in the first place, and then act as their guide, the two Jedi may not have gotten to the city and "rescued" the queen from the Niemoidians who were just using their legal right to control the various commodity industries that Naboo was known for.  The Jedi would not have ended up on Tatooine and saved a young boy who would eventually become Darth Vader who, in the end, betrayed his rightful master.  Heck, if Obi-wan and Qui-gon wouldn't have made off of Naboo and Anakin had not been removed from his much safer employment, when the clone wars have broken out, the Jedi would have been seen is the discriminatory, self-righteous secret service that they really are. The Neimoidians may have been able to convince the Gungans to rise up against the bigoted species-ist humans that had control over Naboo for far too long.  With the Jedi properly discredited and cast out of their high status, Palpatine's reign may have been not so much of a tyrannical empire, but more of a benevolent dictatorship. Now, if you bought that, I have some ocean front resort property for sale on Tatooine. Jar Jar was nothing more then a pawn and if he wasn't available, Palpatine would have found some other hack to grant him the power he strived for.  

Dario: Jar Jar is a really interesting character. He went from being banished from Otoh Gunga to be a key player in what came later for the Republic. Misunderstood by many, I think Jar Jar wasn't responsible for the fate of the republic. His life wasn't exactly an example of what greatness has in store for anybody. Clumsy and  naive, he helped to represent his people from being a representative to becoming a full time senator. The republic was already falling, even way before Jar Jar was about to be part of the game. He just was there, ready to be used by the Palpatine's manipulations.

2.True or False: Jar Jar was partly a savoir to the Republic.

Abe: Jar Jar was a savior since no matter what, he often did things against all odds including helping to stop major bad things from occurring like the droids taking Naboo, stopping the blue shadow virus, etc. He also helped to give Palps emergency powers which then unleashed the clone army.

Peter: Jar-Jar was the substitute Senator of Naboo at the time, for lack of a better term, and he did what he thought was right; what he thought would be the best for the Galaxy. He made the right choice in my opinion, helping Palpatine or not, by doing what was right for not only himself, but for trillions and trillions of people. As Barriss Offee said herself, the Republic was failing, and it needed to be reconstructed. After Palpatine and Vader died, this did happen, so really Jar-Jar was a savior, since he contributed to an overall plot that saved the galaxy from a great many terrors

Ben: Well, he was trying. But unfortunately, no, false. Helping to spark one of the biggest wars in the Galaxy that brought about the destruction of the Republic certainly doesn't qualify him as a savior in any way.

Charles: The Clone Wars series have given Jar Jar some credence that he wouldn't have achieved with just the movies alone. His bumbling around was useful at some points.

Dario: False. He didn't save anyone.. lol. Although, his vote in the creation of the Grand army of the republic was the detonator in what became to be the bloody Clone Wars. One could say that what Jar Jar saved was time for both, the Jedi and the Republic, the falling of these two was imminent. The Clone Wars was just a sadist way to exterminate both by Palpatine's hand.

3.Was Jar Jar really essential to Palpatine's master plan?

Abe: Jar Jar's involvement could have been done with some other Senator. However, his speech was essential, so yes.

Peter: Of course not! As I mentioned above, he was merely another expendable pawn of Palpatine’s. Palpatine could have, just as easily, corrupted some other Senator, or offer a bribe they couldn’t refuse. In Palpatine’s eyes, all of the Senators were pieces of trash; ones that he could clean up and throw out whenever he so desired, and so he acted accordingly. Also, why did it have to happen this way? Couldn't Palpatine just create some sort of propaganda to force everyone into a decision? Or could he have even taken an early strike at Anakin? As much as I care about Jar-Jar, Palpatine didn't care about him.

Ben: Palpatine’s emergency powers were no doubt a cruical part to his plot. But could he have done it without Jar Jar’s great speech? No doubt. I mean, c’mon! Surely he could have found another dope to do his bidding in a building full of politicians. *Wink*

Charles: He was no more then a useful pawn that happened to be in the right place and at the right time.

Dario: Palpatine's plan was already way in the works, before Jar Jar got involved. Jar Jar is only that little push that Palpatine's plan needed. And it worked beautifully.

4. Do you think that Jar-Jar should appear in Star Wars Rebels?

Abe: As I said before, he's pretty essential to the saga although underrated. Plus, he does have some luck in many things.

Peter: Of course he should appear! I like him, and I think that he is a pretty decent character (Take that, Prequel Haters!). He has the perfect background and motivation to be a major part of the Rebel Alliance. He has knowledge and experience from his time as Ambassador for Naboo, and he must have uncovered the plot behind Padme’s death. He also must have realized that, after the knowledge he acquired of how the government and laws work, there was more behind the scenes from the Empire's side. He has decent courage, undying loyalty, valuable experience, great motivation, and the perfect character for one to rebel against evil. 

Ben: It depends. If he can have an important role in the story, then yes. If they’re going to bringing back as the comedic relief so he can trip over something and save the day, then no. Being the time period we’re in, we could see his ultimate fate in the series. Showing him as a more mature character who sacrifices himself for the Rebellion in a compelling way may actually redeem him in the eyes of many fans.

Charles: You never know, he might be an important military strategist.

Dario: Lol!. I don't think we will see Jar Jar as a military strategist. He did enough for the clone wars. And as much as I love Jar Jar, I just hope he learned  his lesson for what happened with the vote he gave for the grand army of the republic. Again, I don't blame Jar Jar for what happened, but he is not exactly the guy you think of when it comes to fix situations. I'm sure he learned a lot from all the years of experience in the galactic republic and later in the imperial senate. I wanna see him, but being more the senator type, and why not, a little adventure from time to time, he is just funny cute clumsy. I love Jar Jar what can I say

5. Jar-Jar Binks: unintelligent creature, or nice and misunderstood character?

Abe: I've always disagreed with the hate Jar Jar gets. Although he does mess up a lot, a lot of his clumsiness and failures do help the cause of the good guys from destroying Droids to other stuff which I already mentioned. He has a good heart and wants to do good with everything. It's not his fault for being clumsy or a bit crazy in the head, XD. It's his character. Plus, he wouldn't have been able to lead the Gungans unless Boss Lyonie trusted him or be padme's senate representative.

Peter: Nice and misunderstood character: If you haven’t noticed already, I like Jar-Jar, and I think he does NOT deserve the hate that he receives. He is nice, funny, loyal, charismatic, misunderstood, and just plain awesome! I mean, take a look at all of the actions that he has done; all of them are for other people. He always puts others in front of himself, and he is also very loving. He is a good, wholehearted person. He gives, rather than takes, and he risks his life for his friends, as seen when he fought on the front lines of the Battle of Naboo, knowing that they were outnumbered

Ben: I little bit of both perhaps? Qui-Gon kind of sums it up when he first meets Jar Jar; “You almost got us killed! Are you brainless?” But later Qui-Gon sees something in Jar Jar and ensures that he continue with them on their mission. Everyone else in the group seems annoyed by him and doesn’t understand why he’s there. Obi-Wan refers to him as a "pathetic life-form". Yet in the end Jar Jar proves himself useful by tracking down the rest of the Gungans, thus helping to liberate Naboo. 

Charles: He is a piece of half-wit comedy relief.   Nice enough but not all together necessary in the Star Wars Universe.

Dario: He is a misunderstood character. He is clumsy as hell…lol. But that doesn't mean he is a coward or stupid. He is really nervous dude that's all…hahaha.

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