There’s no shortage of elaborate, mind-blowing Star Wars theories out there, covering everything from the secret plot surrounding the attack on the first Death Star, to an epic deconstruction of the common threads throughout all six Star Wars films.
And while plenty of these fans have used these theories to justify some of the more poorly received parts of the prequel trilogy, no one has ever really been brave enough to step in and defend one of the prequels’ most hated characters: Jar Jar Binks.
Until now. Reddit user Lumpawarroo has put together an insanely detailed opus that appears to be longer than your average college thesis and seemingly answers the question of whether it’s possible to have too much free time. The fan hypothesizes that the inept, bumbling goofball Jar Jar Binks is in fact a skilled Force user and an incredibly cunning politician who joined forces with Palpatine to take over the galaxy.
In his own words:
"“Here I will seek to establish that Jar Jar Binks, far from being simply the bumbling idiot he portrays himself as, is in fact a highly skilled force user in terms of martial ability and mind control.Furthermore, I assert that he was not, as many people assume, just an unwitting political tool manipulated by Palpatine– rather, he and Palpatine were likely in collaboration from the very beginning, and it’s entirely possible that Palpatine was a subordinate underling to Binks throughout both trilogies.”"
Wait, wait, come back. We haven’t even gotten to the craziest part yet.
It all seems farfetched, until Lumpawarroo starts dropping some knowledge bombs that make the notion start to sound convincing. In one of my favorite parts of the theory, the Reddit user juxtaposes gifs of scenes of Jar Jar’s awkwardness from Episode I with examples of the martial arts discipline known as Drunken Fist, implying that the Gungan was hiding his warrior skills by making himself look dumb and ineffective.
The theory even manages to incorporate Binks’ brief scenes from Attack of the Clones. Have you ever noticed how Jar Jar always moves his hands toward someone whenever he has an important scene? Is that really a natural method for people, and even Gungans, communicate? You know who else likes to wave their hands whenever they’re trying to get something they want?
That’s right. THE JEDI.
If it wasn’t bonkers enough, Lumpawarroo claims that his theory will in fact be vindicated pretty soon — in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He believes that Binks will make an appearance and reveal himself as the true puppetmaster behind the Empire’s resurgence in the galaxy, which means that Jar Jar is none other than Supreme Leader Snoke himself.
If you’re a prequel hater, you probably just picked up your computer after reading that last sentence and smashed it against the wall before popping in your pirated, original theatrical version of The Empire Strikes Back. But if you’re a prequel apologist, you probably just sent some Reddit gold to Lumpawaroo for singlehandedly making George Lucas look like a mad genius.
Next: Toys 'R' Us Unveils The Force Awakens Commercials
Looking past the absurdity of Disney betting that millions of Star Wars fans will be enthralled to learn that arguably the most hated character in the franchise is actually its greatest villain, the theory is actually a lot of fun and worth checking out.
I don’t believe a word of it is true, but musings like this one are part of the attraction of Star Wars, and even if you’re buying into it, it shouldn’t change your perception of the prequels, whether you think they’re unappreciated masterpieces or if they’re just big piles of doo-doo.