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Jar Jar the Clown

The epilogue of Jar Jar Binks

Empire’s End: Aftermath

Author: Chuck Wendig

Jar Jar Binks deserves a moment in this book.

He really does.

Yes, one cannot deny the truth of the situation. We are all aware of the history of this character, the backlash against it, and the emotional and psychological toll it took on Ahmed Best, the charismatic artist and performer that portrayed him. Jar Jar Binks incites opinions. Understandably. However, the character exists. He is part of the Star Wars story. And he has fans.

Many watching The Phantom Menace in 1999 did not connect with Jar Jar Binks and they never will. Their arms are figuratively and literally crossed. The line is drawn. Yet George Lucas will say—until he is as blue in the face as his Revenge of the Sith character Baron Papanoida—that he specifically created Jar Jar Binks with kids in mind and it is those young fans, now stretching across different Star Wars generations, that connect with Jar Jar. The character continues to reach these fans and the ones that grew up with him from 1999 on still have a soft spot for him. Yep, they grow up and start to connect with other characters and movies, but, much like the Ewoks of Return of the Jedi, Jar Jar was part of their entry point into the saga.

So, yes, Jar Jar Binks is a reason to love Star Wars.

Author Chuck Wendig made many strong and bold choices in his Aftermath trilogy of novels set in the days and months right after the Rebels’ victory on Endor. He painted a realistic picture of the galaxy following a vicious war that toppled a ruling government. The war truly did not end when the Ewoks danced and sang with our heroes. He assured the diversity of the galaxy, and therefore this real-world franchise, was wider than it was before he put pen to paper. He dealt with tough, nuanced issues. He made a battle droid a lovable character. (More on THAT later.) However, beyond all that, the bravest thing Chuck Wendig did was bring Jar Jar Binks into this modern Star Wars era in the final book of the trilogy, Aftermath: Empire’s End.

The epilogue of Jar Jar Binks, found in one of the trilogy’s’ trademark interludes, is absolutely one of the most heart-wrenching and touching moments in Star Wars. We go to Theed, the capital of Naboo, the planet on which we all first met Jar Jar and meet Mapo, a ten-year-old refugee of the Galactic Civil War. His parents died because of the Empire, but the theme is clear: the Rebel victory had many unforeseen costs. Mapo is now a maimed orphan and, at ten, one of the “older” refugees that gather in the city and unlikely to get adopted like the others.

Mapo is taken to a Gungan referred to as the clown, but he identifies himself as Jar Jar and the two quickly connect over the shared feeling of abandonment and neglect from everyone and everything. No one talks to Mapo and no one talks to Jar Jar. They both feel that they don’t belong anywhere.

Jar Jar Binks was a war hero heralded by his people for bridging the divide with Naboo, helping to win a war, and later proudly serving his planet alongside Padmé Amidala on the capital planet of Coruscant. But he fell prey to the machinations of a Sith Lord and proposed the motion to give Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers, unwillingly paving the path for the Clone War and the rise of the Emperor himself. (Almost as if George was saying, “Fine. You hate him? Now you can blame him for everything.”) Following the end of that war and the rise of Palpatine’s Empire, Jar Jar Binks was banished by his own people and forgotten by any friend he may have had left. He had no place left in the galaxy. He was a casualty as well, so Jar Jar turned his attention to the only people that would talk to him and spent his days entertaining the young refugees, bringing joy to the kids around him.

Think about it: Jar Jar Binks has been shunned by the people he once thought would always love him and now finds his sole purpose in life entertaining the only people that value his presence: children. It’s not just a sly meta comment on the character and the story. It’s a mirror placed in front of the fandom itself.

It’s nothing short of breathtaking.

Time changes perspectives and it calms down the inflamed passions of (most) fans. The epilogue of Jar Jar Binks is a fitting punctuation point to the journey of the character (assuming we don’t hear more) and it adds an unexpected depth, thankfully. Ahmed Best deserves this mature, layered look at the character he brought groundbreaking life to. Just like the character, Best, one of the trailblazers of performance capture, was on the receiving end of scorn and a fandom-sized shunning. In 2018, he openly spoke of the depression and suicidal struggle this brought to his life. This moment doesn’t necessarily heal that, but it beautifully and thoughtfully reminds us all to look again at Jar Jar Binks and his true value in the Star Wars saga.

And that is very much okie day.