Jar Jar Binks is a Gungan who was introduced to the world in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. He’s a bumbling fool, but he played a large role in guiding Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi around Naboo and winning a battle against the Trade Federation, as well as bringing Obi-Wan and Anakin back to Coruscant and even allowing Palpatine to rise to power in the following movies.
He’s an especially cartoony character for the franchise that was clearly created to attract younger audiences. Because of this, he was a klutz and specialized in annoying those around him. Because he was seen as annoying by audiences as well, large portions of those audiences were particularly cruel to the character and the actor who played him, Ahmed Best. They verbally tore apart the movie, and the character was so widely hated that Best considered suicide.
The character may not exactly have been the biggest highlight of the prequel trilogy, but that sort of treatment to a real actor or a fictional character is just plain unacceptable. That being said, this backlash against Jar Jar’s existence caused the character to be included in the movies less and less as the prequel trilogy continued. He’s only in a few scenes of Episode II and is essentially a background character in Episode III.
Instead of forcing the character to gradually fade away, he should have gotten character development. Jar Jar was introduced as a silly goofball, but he was one with the heart of a hero. We saw that he was capable of doing something right. He did become a delegate of the Galactic Senate, so that’s a step in the right direction for him, but he was still so much of a screw up that he allowed Palpatine to become emperor. However, that should have been used as a catalyst for Jar Jar’s growth.
The filmmakers could have had him become more competent over time. Perhaps the guilt from this major screw-up sets him on a path of self-reflection and maturity. He had the potential to grow from annoying goofball to true hero. They could have had the audience fighting for him to do something right and do it well rather than continually messing up and being annoying.
Sure, Jar Jar wasn’t great, but he had the potential to become a much better and much more interesting character. He just needed to keep appearing and getting more screen time than what he was given in Episodes II and III. Keep in mind, this potential is still there. With all these Star Wars characters starring in their own spin-off TV series, Jar Jar could always rear his amphibious head again. If that does happen, they could finally give him the character development and redemption he so desperately needs and deserves.
Nonstop Nerd 