It is a testament to the genius of George Lucas that despite the franchise reaching well over forty years of life, the fans are still sifting through his great work for any trace of gold. They are putting in even more work through one of his densest texts, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. It is certainly a deeply layered film easily misunderstood by the shallow eye. With time and effort, it is revealing its secrets to the fandom. About Jar Jar Binks, a new light is cast on what was once assumed to be the worst decision of Boss Nass’ reign: appointing Jar Jar as Bombad General of the Gungan Grand Army.
Phantom Menace was derided by fans for being too boring, too childish, and too different than what they anticipated they would get out of a Star Wars movie. For twenty years it was considered the worst in the entire Saga until the Disney Trilogy left its stain. Jar Jar Binks became the epitome of everything that was wrong with Episode 1 for better or for worse (especially worse for the actor who portrayed the humanoid salamander). In a technical sense, Jar Jar Binks was the Yoda of the Prequel Trilogy. Where in Empire Strikes Back Yoda was the first fully realized animatronic puppet character, in Phantom Menace Jar Jar was the first fully computer-generated character. George Lucas measured his technological barometer level on how the audience reacted to each of these characters on screen. For Yoda, it was a marvelous success. For Jar Jar, technically he was a success – no one ever complained that Jar Jar looked fake or uncanny in scenes with living actors, but for characterization, he was a meteoric disaster.
At the end of Phantom Menace, Queen Amidala forms a military alliance with Boss Nass to oppose the Trade Federation’s occupation army. The Naboo people did not have an army of their own, and so Amidala had to plead with the Gungan chief to mobilize his on their behalf. Swayed by sympathy and their mutual enemy, Boss Nass agreed. Then, in recognition of Jar Jar Binks’ contribution in bringing the two nations together, Nass appoints Jar Jar as the leader of the Grand Army.
At first blush, this should be considered a most regrettable decision – probably the worst decision of Boss Nass’ entire life. Jar Jar has no military training, no experience in combat whatsoever, and outside of showing up in the Gungan sacred city with a bunch of humans, Jar Jar was slapped as a pariah in Gungan society. Only a few days earlier Qui-Gon Jinn had to plead in defense of Jar Jar to Boss Nass to stop the chief from doling out punishment on the hapless Gungan. Most fans stop there when evaluating this decision. Their viewpoint is that Boss Nass and the Gungans are stupid, and they should be ridiculed. However, if considered in the context of Queen Amidala’s battle plan against the Trade Federation, the decision to appoint Jar Jar as Bombad General has a devious explanation.
Amidala’s Battle Plan
After the two nations unite, Amidala presents her battle plan to Boss Nass, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan. The Gungan Grand Army is to face off against the Trade Federation’s Droid Army in open combat on the grasslands outside of Theed while she, the Jedi and the Naboo resistance infiltrate the palace and capture Viceroy Nute Gunray by surprise. It is remarked that the Gungans cannot match the strength or size of the droid army and will likely lose. It is even expressed that the Gungans will suffer a high casualty rate. With pride and bravery, Boss Nass guarantees his army will uphold their duty to the plan. Notably, just prior to joining this conversation, Boss Nass gleefully gave the leadership of the Gungan Army to Jar Jar. The timing of this appointment should not be overlooked.
The Narrative of Gungan History…
Upon forming the alliance with the Naboo, Boss Nass made some swift mental calculations. At that moment there were only two Jedi on Naboo, not enough to have any real impact against the occupation force. He also knew that the Naboo only funded an air force and a small defense force which were essentially municipal police, not a trained or regimented standing army like his. Boss Nass wisely saw that his army would face the brunt of the Droids in the imminent conflict to free their planet. It was right then when he realized what to do about Jar Jar Binks. As Captain Panaka and Qui-Gon pointed out during the planning, the Gungans would face heavy casualties and that this would be a losing battle.
According to the plan, the Gungans were merely a diversion. All they had to do was stand there and draw out the droids from the city and take a high number of casualties. They were the punching bag for the Queen’s covert mission. Instead of wasting one of his veteran military leaders in a hopeless clash, Boss Nass cleverly places Jar Jar Binks as general of these forces. It was better to let Jar Jar march with the fodder into the blaster bolts of the Droids than a real commander. If he died, all the better for Boss Nass. Although the Battle for Naboo was a victory, the Battle of the Great Grass Plains itself was probably one of the worst military defeats in Gungan history.
Knowing this, Boss Nass credited it to the leadership of Jar Jar Binks rather than dishonoring the record of one of his prestigious veterans. Jar Jar was the patsy for the Gungan Grand Army’s defeat at the hands of the Trade Federation.
Anakin’s Triumph on the Control Ship Was Happenstance
The other idea was for the Royal Naboo Starfighters to attack and defeat the droids above the planet, but that too was always a long shot. It was part of the two-pronged pincer against the Trade Federation army command. Queen Amidala would vie for the Viceroy while the air squadrons would fight the battleship in space. The starfighters were in no shape to triumph as they were ill equipped to penetrate the shields of the Droid Control Ship with their torpedoes.
By the looks of it, Anakin played a decisive role in infiltrating the ship and precision striking the heart of the Control Ship. Without him, they too were a losing cause. Considering he was not a factor in the initial battle plans, the fact that he participated was a godsend for Jar Jar down below on the battlefield. Anakin’s victory in space saved Jar Jar’s bacon. By the time Anakin blew up the Control Ship the Gungans had already surrendered to the Droid Army and were being rounded up for imprisonment or execution. Jar Jar, surprisingly still alive, was part of the prisoner of war crowd. Boss Nass’ plan to rid himself of the pest that was Jar Jar was foiled by the fluke rescue of Anakin’s victory.
The original viewpoint of Star Wars: Phantom Menace was that Boss Nass awarded Jar Jar Binks leadership of the Gungan Grand Army because Jar Jar was special. Clearly, that is not the case. The new interpretation is that Boss Nass used this as an opportunity to position that fool of a Gungan in front of the firing line of the Trade Federation. The Gungan army was meant to lose. Rather than sacrifice a veteran army commander in a high fatality battle, best to toss that gullible sucker in harm’s way.