#jar-jar

I would like to apologize to my readership for the frankly... disturbing level of hysteria I reached last night losing my mind about the quality of Jar-Jar Binks episodes in Clone Wars. I will say, though that, speaking as a professional writer (until Covid wiped out all employment, that is), that there is something genuinely offensive about his presence in the series. from a writing standpoint - he’s the physical embodiment of an intrusive thought. Watching a serious discussion about bio-terrorism be interrupted by a gambling clown is an inexplicable disruption of tone. There’s something gross about the fact that Padmé, the only female character of note from the prequel films and one of only two female mains on the side of good in Clone Wars (the third being evil, hyper-sexualized Ventress), constantly has her character and integrity as a skilled diplomat and political operative undermined by the ball and chain that is stupid, stupid Jar-Jar. In that scene where they’re trying to save the lives of all of Naboo from a vicious virus, Jar-Jar destroys their only source of intelligence by knocking over a bunch of shelves because he got his tongue stuck in a gear while deciding to eat a random bug he saw. Because - despite nominally being a junior member of the senate and a military general - he didn’t pay any attention to the important discussion wasn’t asked or expected to, and just wandered off to do stupid things because he adds nothing and really had no reason to be there other than the plot wanted him to screw up because it’s “funny”. This is the guy who injuries dozens during the course of the series by inadvertently causing their ships to crash because he trips a lot. His behaviour is deeply inappropriate and nobody else in the series has to be saddled with a similar issues. The heavy emotional episodes of the clones being crushed by the oppressive weight of the system of war don’t have the presence of Bonkus the Goof-Clone who bumbles his way through artillery barrages. Obi-Wan doesn’t have to fight for Mandalore with Smuck-Burble the yodelling clown-slime ruining all his plans. Ahsoka might star the series a little bratty - but she also starts the series as a skilled warrior with a sharp intellect and intentionally does things of value. That’s what smarts about Clone Wars’ Jar-Jar: the help he provides is always unintentional, as the hand of fate guides his idiocy to success in spite of himself... which would be fine if Clone Wars was a slice-of-life show about running a bakery, but is monumentally mis-guided in a show that wants to wrestle with some pretty heavy issues about morality and the cost of war. There is a place for commentary about how absurd, ridiculous, and down-right slapstick war can be - but Jar-Jar does not provide that commentary, and there is no critical lens behind his clowning. (And that’s not even to touch on the criticism that has lingered since 1999 that there’s still something of the minstrel show about Jar-Jar. Ahmed Best received a lot of racist hate after Phantom Menace - the same kind vitriol that would later be directed at Kelly Marie Tran and John Boyega - but there was, from the other side, a lot of scathing critique about how Jar-Jar reads in a world where there’s a history of POC being rendered in white cinema and in white theatre as... well, bumbling clowns. There’s debate to be had there still - and Ahmed Best’s own feelings on his own performance deserve consideration as do talks of intent versus results - but it’s yet one more thing that’s hard to stop thinking about when watching Jar-Jar’s  unceasing ineptitude. Clone Wars really could have tried to improve Jar-Jar’s character. Balanced the clowning with... something! Anything! If there was one thing in Clone Wars that made you nod and go ‘oh, yes, he might be an idiot most of the time but he always solves [x]’, anything that made you feel like Padmé et alia weren’t bad at their jobs for not firing the guy, that would be something. But they didn’t. And so Padmé looks like an idiot for bringing Jar-Jar with her. The senate and the Jedi Council look even more like idiots than usual for picking Jar-Jar to do shit. Everyone around Jar-Jar looks like an idiot for engaging with him at any time.)

Full respect to Jar-Jar and his people but like, a city hidden 10 feet under water isn’t exactly hidden