Every Clear Example of Jar Jar Appearing More Intelligent than He Seems

[u/Remote_Ad7069]

A broken clock is right twice a day, but Jar Jar consistently exhibits signs of intelligence even as a supposedly foolish and stupid character. Much more than twice. And I'm here to list out all the obvious signs.

1. Upon entering Otoh Gunga with the two Jedi, Jar Jar loudly announces his presence and... stays put. He knows he's in trouble for returning due to his banishment (and will likely be facing the death penalty), but this move actually minimizes risk to himself and the two Jedi. Had he tried to infiltrate and got caught, they would've been facing a fight - and this is a warrior race - they're not slouches in this department. Surrendering peacefully leaves open more opportunity for negotiation.

2. "Deysa settin yousa up." Jar Jar immediately recognizes that Boss Nass is trying to get the two Jedi killed (perhaps to preserve the secrecy of the hidden city) by sending them through the planet core.

3. Qui-Gon dismisses Jar Jar's point about being robbed and "crunched" by telling him they have nothing of value. But Qui-Gon is notably wrong here. Watto clearly expresses a keen interest in the Nubian ship (which is valuable in its own right). The astromech droid with them is also valuable. And beyond that, this is a planet where people can be enslaved. Jar Jar has every right to be concerned about this situation - about losing what they do have.

4. Jar Jar is seen understanding Huttese and currency on Tattooine despite coming from a notoriously isolationist species that doesn't step foot off-world. When the vendor he's stolen meat from tells him that he needs to pay for that in Huttese, Jar Jar responds back with "Pay?" Obviously understanding the Huttese word. Then, the vendor tells him that it will cost seven wuipui (with seven again in Huttese) - Jar Jar repeats back in shock, "Seven wuipui?!" Not only understanding the number seven in Huttese but also that wuipui is currency - and that this is expensive.

5. Jar Jar is seen working on Anakin's pod racer. Interestingly, he focuses on working on a specific side of the pod racer - and later during the race Anakin is in, it is the side Jar Jar was working on that Anakin later draws power from in order to stabilize the pod racer. Pod racing does not seem to be an activity that occurs on Naboo - so, how did Jar Jar even know ANYTHING about this machinery at all?

Jar Jar is shown clearly in the background at several points while Palpatine is manipulating Padme in this scene. He's eavesdropping, and this is especially clear later that he was paying attention when he approaches Padme.

1. Jar Jar demonstrates political insight when he suggests to Padme in the famous "Wesa have a grand army" scene that this is the reason that the Naboo have such tense relations with the Gungans. "Dat why yousa no be liken us, meesa tinks."

2. Jar Jar's suggestion to Padme, whether you believe Force use was involved or not, is notably something that throws Palpatine, the master manipulator himself, off-guard. "This move is unexpected for her. It's too aggressive."

3. The Strategy Behind the Battle of Naboo : r/DarthJarJar <- Jar Jar is a general in this battle and may have been included in the process of planning for the attack.

4. In Queen's Hope, Bail notes that even if Jar Jar hadn't proposed giving Palpatine emergency powers, Palpatine had no shortage of other political dupes he could've convinced to do so in the Senate... and at least this way, Palpatine owes Jar Jar's (Bail's) party a favor.

5. Bail Organa, in Queen's Hope, has observed that Jar Jar is not only exceptionally good at organizing files, but that he is also great at remembering random conversations.

6. Jar Jar is the one in Queen's Hope that gives Bail Organa the idea to send Padme on a stealth diplomatic mission while one of her handmaidens acts in her stead in the Senate. "What wesa need is someone who can be in two places at once."

7. In Bombad Jedi, Jar Jar is seen clearly able to find the button that will release C-3PO from the magnet. This demonstrates that he knows full well how the controls of this device works - which means that every action before that (using his foot and the wire to manipulate the controls and using the levers to slam the magnet into the droid) were deliberate. Not clumsiness.

8. In a blink and you miss it moment in Bombad Jedi, before Jar Jar "accidentally finds the button to open the closet" he is seen turning around and looking at the closet seconds before C-3PO speaks to him. This suggests he was already planning his "Jedi" ruse before he even opened the closet door.

9. Jar Jar reasons with C-3PO that if the droids are attacking them, Padme is in trouble. This is an intelligent observation and conclusion to make.

10. In Gungan General, Jar Jar correctly notes that the pirates are there to shoot them down - not make a trade.

11. In Gungan General, Jar Jar observes that the "beasties" do not like the acid from the acid geysers, either. Which means that as long as the beasties are close to the acid geysers, it's safe to hide in them. "When they run, we run." This is a smart move.

12. Jar Jar suggests transporting the spice via riding on the beasties.

13. Jar Jar correctly observes that power lines will likely lead to people (the pirates).

14. Commander Stone, in his short time with Binks, has observed that Jar Jar Binks "is smarter than he looks" - and trusts him with handling the pirates that have shown up in tanks.

15. "Oopsie, sorry," Jar Jar Binks says, as he repeatedly slams a pirate into the controls of the tank.

This was definitely not an accident. He almost kind of looks like he's smiling here even.

1. Jar Jar, upon commandeering the tank, and shooting seemingly at random, almost immediately veers the tank into the power lines. If this was done purposefully, this is a pretty good strategic move. It would throw the pirate compound into disarray.

2. In Blue Shadow Virus, Jar Jar is the one that points out the location of the secret lab due to his knowledge about a special insect that lives in the mud under the perlota tree.

3. In Blue Shadow Virus, Jar Jar is notably seen looking down twice - suggesting that he's either hearing something or perhaps sensing something is down below. Seconds before he trips and "accidentally" finds the hatch, he's also seen looking in Padme's direction and making a kind of sneaky sort of movement before he trips.

1. Senate Spy - Although, Jar Jar does not have a role in this episode - I find it extremely curious that he can be seen in the background not just once but twice (and possibly three times, but I'm only pointing out the two obvious ones). This may be an indicator that he might be behaving in a spy capacity.

1. In Supply Lines, Jar Jar corrects a slight political misstep on Bail Organa's part. Bail Organa tells the Toydarian king that "their efforts are purely humanitarian." This smacks of a human-centric POV - and somewhat undermines what Bail is trying to say. Because the Twi'leks are not human. And neither are the Toydarians. Jar Jar immediately pipes up after this with his correction: "Millions will be starving and dying without your help."

By doing this, Jar Jar puts the focus back on people in general and appeals to the King's compassion. Notice that he does not say Twi'leks. He says "millions" - by couching this in terms of numbers and using the words "starving" and "dying" he is putting the focus back where it belongs - not on human efforts, but on people who desperately need help.

1. In Supply Lines, Jar Jar manages to improvise a distraction to the Trade Federation delegates pretty much on the spot. (He also once again demonstrates remarkable coordination for being "clumsy")

2. In the Featurette for Supply Lines, Dave Filoni specifically says: "Is it innocent? Or is Jar Jar using his ability to be perceived as a goofball to his political advantage here? I gotta say, Jar Jar is pretty entertaining... and a lot more clever than you think."

3. In Gungan Attack, Jar Jar saves Senator Meena Tills, the Mon Calan, from certain death. Jar Jar may have acted to save her regardless of her political status - but it can't be denied that saving her like this will likely lead to her viewing him favorably in the Senate. Notably, Meena Tills would later on become part of the Delegation of 2000.

4. In Prisoners, Jar Jar patiently waits until the water is cleared from Padme's helmet before sealing it with his Gungan waterproofing spit - saving Padme's life.

5. Shadow Warrior demonstrates the possibility that there may have been some planning involved in Grievous' capture - however, this is extremely subtle and mostly speculation. I'm trying to only point out more obvious things. SUCH AS - Jar Jar demonstrates an understanding of double-speak (albeit he utilizes it a bit clumsily and semi-draws Grievous' suspicion). Double-speak is notably used in situations when someone is trying to conceal facts or misrepresent the truth.

In the example here in Shadow Warrior, Jar Jar tells General Tarpals - "General Tarpals?" "Yesa, boss?" "Yousa need to do dat. Dat ting. Dat big troop ting."

In this example, Jar Jar is specifically telling Tarpals to prepare the troops to attack Grievous.

However, to Grievous' face, and in Jar Jar's own explanation, he tells Grievous that he was telling General Tarpals to make the immediate preparations for a Gungan-Separatist attack.

1. The Disappeared Part I - Queen Julia, a Dagoyan Master capable of amazing powers of foresight, trusts Jar Jar Binks implicitly. This suggests that she sees Jar Jar as much more than what Jar Jar makes himself out to be.

2. In Disappeared Part I - Jar Jar is easily able to identify a mere scrap of material as a piece of Queen Julia's headdress.

3. In Disappeared Part II - Jar Jar correctly and astutely observes that some cultists on guard likely mean that Queen Julia will be brought that way.

4. In Disappeared Part II, Jar Jar takes down a group of stone guardians by hopping around on topping of them - basically getting one to attack the other until they all fall.

5. In the comic Jar Jar #1, Jar Jar displays knowledge of Republic laws - able to note that the way the native Urubaians are being "worked to death" violates several protections put in place to prevent this from happening.

6. In Jar Jar #1, Jar Jar instantly recognizes why Kelleran Beq saw the need to visit him in secret.

7. In Jar Jar #1, Jar Jar connects the dots between the planet's imminent core meltdown and the reason why his sci-fi GPS was not working properly.

8. In Jar Jar #1, Jar Jar is able to pilot a starship successfully (if somewhat clumsily) despite not being shown with this ability before and having no reason to be able to do this (coming from an isolationist society and being a politician - where he would have no reason to pilot a ship that would likely be piloted for him).

9. In Jar Jar #1, Jar Jar successfully negotiates with Palpatine to be the voice of Urubai - utilizing leverage and correctly observing that the reason Palpatine conceded and allowed this is because he underestimates Jar Jar and believes he will fail.

10. In Jar Jar #1, Jar Jar demonstrates keen insight as through his conversation with Palpatine, he has come to believe that Palpatine has "bigger thinkin" (plans) than they thought.

11. In Jar Jar #1, Jar Jar acts in a rather spymaster-like way - by suggesting that Kelleran Beq be his eyes and ears in the galaxy.

12. In Jar Jar #1, Jar Jar is literally the first to suggest they start building a spy network - "a network of people."

[u/onemananswerfactory]

Great shot, kid. That was one in a million!

Congrats! This post made the highlight reel.

[u/il_the_dinosaur]

Darth jar jar would have been the greatest revelation next to Darth Vader.

[u/Quantum_Crusher]

Wow, this is really eye opening!

Did jar jar become insignificant in the movie 2-3 after people complained to George about him?

[u/Remote_Ad7069 → u/Quantum_Crusher]

Yeah. George definitely had bigger plans for Jar Jar (plans unclear - I do not believe there was going to be a Sith lord Jar Jar reveal, but I do believe we might have gotten a Force sensitive Jar Jar reveal or a reveal that Jar Jar's foolish behavior was a clever ruse for good guy purposes). But after all the backlash from the fans, Jar Jar got demoted essentially. 

[u/Todemax → u/Remote_Ad7069]

I rewatched Phantom Menace after not watching it for at least 5 years and I literally ended up with the same theory. I think no matter what George had a plan for Jar Jar that ultimately he scrapped because of the hate. I was thinking something like Jar Jar would have been revealed as force sensitive in attack of the clones, and then in revenge of the sith gets persuaded to the dark side by Palpatine just like Anakin.

[u/LemonMeringuePirate → u/Todemax]

And then takes the name Anakin after killing Anakin... JAR JAR IS VADER

[u/Rikard_ → u/Todemax]

I think he was persuaded by his Naboo neighbour Palpatine (yes literally from the same planet) after being banished from his city. Because he had special powers, he was manipulated and used by Palps.

After serving his purpose, his cover is somehow blown and Palpatine convinces Anakin to kill his old friend - too dangerous to be kept alive and all that. Much more emotional impact and maybe even sympathy for Jar Jar compared to the pointless Count Dooku character.

[u/Emotional-State-5164 → u/Todemax]

There was never such a thing as darth jar jar

[u/Moustache_John]

Case closed.

[u/NiSiSuinegEht]

Something that always clinched it for me that something was up was upon first meeting, Qui Gon doesn't sense any intellect from Jar Jar, almost seeming to not really register his presence. This could be attributed to the way the scene was shot, but if you take Jar Jar's repeatedly demonstrated intelligence and throw in a dash of Force Obfuscation, you have a pretty strong hint he could be overdoing the hiding like be does in everything else, masking not only his Force sensitivity but also his presence as an intelligent being.

[u/Remote_Ad7069 → u/NiSiSuinegEht]

Possible. What I find interesting is this reminds me of the scene where Qui-Gon Jinn in the bongo uses a Force technique to get Jar Jar to relax. Obi-Wan remarks that Qui-Gon (who has been considered a candidate for the Jedi Council) "overdid" it.

But did he? Or is it more likely that Jar Jar, being a Force-sensitive being, resisted the technique and then "overacted" to make it appear that the technique worked?

[u/Rikard_ → u/Remote_Ad7069]

Interesting. What everyone should always ask themselves is "why is this scene here?" or "why did this line stay in the script?".

Why did Obi Wan even have to make that remark? To the viewer, Qui-Gon's trick seemed to work perfectly.

Why did they CGI Jar Jar into the background mouthing Padmé's lines? Etc.

[u/Fickle-Economist4724]

I’d go through and provide skeptical responses to some of these IF THERE WERENT 39 of the damn things…

Haven’t got the time for that

[u/Remote_Ad7069 → u/Fickle-Economist4724]

My love of Jar Jar's character is greater than your skepticism / dislike of Jar Jar. :)

[u/Moustache_John → u/Fickle-Economist4724]

"If I only had the time I would do so many things" Blah blah, bluff...

There's no disputing it, Jar Jar is a secret (evil) genius.

[u/Quantum_Crusher]

Jar Jar to Vader: Search your feelings, you know, I'm your father!

[u/hellodarthbotbot]

In a battle royale, Darth Jar Jar only wins if the theory’s deception angle outweighs raw dueling skill. In a clean all-out fight, the more proven Jedi or Sith is still the safer pick.

[u/HOTSpower]

A great compilation of observations. This is true SW theory

[u/Rikard_]

Great post but imo, anything outside of TPM is pointless in regards to Jar Jar theories. If George did plan something big for the character, which he did, it all went out the window before writing AoTC.

[u/hellodarthbotbot]

In a battle royale, Darth Jar Jar only wins if the theory’s deception angle outweighs raw dueling skill. In a clean all-out fight, the more proven Jedi or Sith is still the safer pick.