Over the 40 plus year history of the Star Wars Universe there have been a tremendous amount for fans to love and celebrate. And there have been at least a few to cause uproar amongst the masses. However, no one event or entity seems to be the bane of so much frustration and fury than Mr. Jar Jar Binks. The prequels are the movies Mr. Lucas wanted the originals to be, evidenced by the SE versions of the original trilogy. So a character like Jar Jar, CGI where before only puppetry was possible, would have been a good fit.

Instead we got a character that trips and stumbles, lampooning through each and every scene he is in and when he talks, we have to suffer through that dialect. Is there any way that there is more to this character? No way the creator of the Force and the Falcon, face it everyone loves the Falcon, intended this creation for more and we just missed it. Unless…

Speaking of dialect, well let’s look at two things. One, how many other alien creatures spoke “English” prior to Jar Jar? I’ll wait for you to count. Remember the Cantina, a few I guess? The Jawas. Ewoks. Nope? Okay Jabba did, sort of. So maybe in order to distinguish this character or race from others Mr. Lucas had to find a way to distinguish them. And much like the other alien race introduced in Phantom Menace, the Neimodiams, the Gungans were given a distinct speech pattern because you see past the voice. Jar Jar speaks in the same pattern as the other Gungans. Boss Nass tell Qui Gon of Jar Jars fate, “He sa to be punished”. Also, Tarpals states to Jar Jar upon the characters return to the Gungan city, “yousa in big doo doo”. This point that to the Gungan society the “Sa” serves the same function of our “Be”. And the Gungans don’t conjugate so they always use “Sa”, where we would use “Are” or “Is to Be” or…

I am Jar Jar Binks

Okay now that that part is out of the way, your eyes and mind are a little more open, the rest of this should flow much quicker. So with his very introduction Jar Jar says “I am” and shows who and what he is. As a man or I guess Gungan thinketh so is he, is that so bad? Yes he was simple and unencumbered, wasn’t it explained that it was like that for the entire Galaxy? I mean sure there were occasional issues but there was both the Noble Senate and the Jedi. What could go wrong? I mean there was trouble brewing but nobody thought much of it. By the end of Ep. 1 the threat was over. Yoda and Mace seemed to give the briefest of pauses to a much bigger threat, but that was all. So one being innocent, childish and naive when the Universe has given you no reason to be any differently isn’t truly a bad thing.

Episode 2 shows he didn’t stay unencumbered too long. Following the actions of all the people of Naboo, Jar Jar found himself representing his people in the Senate. So we find him in Clones, being lead to a conclusion, a decision that he might not have previously made. But, this wasn’t Ep. 1 Jar Jar, much like this wasn’t the same Galaxy either. So when he helps to orchestrate the maneuver that lead to Palpatines rise, he does it because he was “trying” to be something he really isn’t. He will have company soon however, or did you miss a certain group going from being “keepers of the peace” to being addressed as “General” and “Commander”.

When Episode 3 hit, those fans who hated him got a bit of relief. However Jar Jars limited appearance in this movie speaks volume. After all why would he be present, this wasn’t a Galaxy fit for a young Gungan, to be honest with what’s coming it isn’t a good time for anyone in the Galaxy. If you pause, during Amidala’s funeral, you catch a brief glimpse of Jar Jar. Pale. Saddened. Changed. Whatever “hesa” then, it is not who “hesa” now.

So while some will continue to argue for a Special Edition of the prequels that eliminates Jar Jar, maybe it is possible to allow this simple creature for no other reason than what “hesa”, “He Is”. Much like the novel by the name, aren’t we asked to not kill mockingbirds? They just want to be happy and sing. An indication of what we have, where we are, who we are, what there is to fight for and if not fought for what can be lost. Jar Jar is that compass, that barometer of the prequels. His story shows how destructive the Empire is. Practically everyone who doesn’t get killed in the prequels manages to show up in the original trilogy. It’s been stated Mr. Lucas had this idea a long time, he knew the prequels when he made the originals. Yoda, Chewie, R2…no Jar Jar. Gone.

That must mean something?