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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

PT Qui-Gon's Republic Credit Blunder

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by Tornado Wrangler, Feb 1, 2014.

  1. Tornado Wrangler

    Tornado Wrangler Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 22, 2013
    Ok, I'm gonna take this back to my main point, which I don't think you've really addressed yet.

    Let's take this step by step.

    Could Qui-Gon have mind-tricked another person on Tatooine to accept Republic Credits to buy something of value?
    If NO-> argument over: agree to disagree
    If YES -> next step.

    Now Qui-Gon has goods of value. Could he have sold them for local currency or traded them directly for the hyper-drive?
    If NO-> argument over: agree to disagree
    if YES -> agreement over: WE AGREE!!!!

    That was all I was trying to stay. Sorry to get caught up in all those other details.

    I'm not a TPM hater. It's actually the only prequel episode I like to watch. It's because I've watched it so much that I've noticed all these weird decisions that were made to further the plot.
     
  2. Garra

    Garra Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2014
    The sandstorm blocked that from happening.
     
  3. Samuel Vimes

    Samuel Vimes Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    You misunderstood me, if Qui-Gon had gone to another dealer he could have "used" his republic money and gotten goods and equipment equal to the cost of the part and then got back to Watto.

    Bye for now.
    Old Stoneface
     
  4. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    Exactly, and then Anakin comes into play.
     
  5. Samuel Vimes

    Samuel Vimes Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    No, as I said before. After leaving Watto, Qui-Gon stopped and talked to Obi-Wan and asked about what they had onboard that they could trade. The thought to "buy" from another trader didn't enter his mind.
    The sandstorm came later.
    Also when they are with Anakin Qui-Gon is looking for options and again the idea to use his credits and "buy" from others doesn't seem to occur to him.

    Bye for now.
    Blackboard Monitor
     
  6. Eryndil

    Eryndil Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 18, 2012
    Tatooine is kind of a backwater planet under the rule of a crime family. The Republic has no authority there and tends to keep away if possible. I would guess that Watto is right when he says that Republic credits are no good out there. They probably only accept local currency or items of an equal value. Credits are like paper money in that they have no intrinsic value and are only worth anything within the Republic. I can't imagine Tatooine having a currency exchange for credits either - after all, the farmers can't afford to leave the planet and the criminals would generally avoid Republic space.

    As for why Qui-Gon got distracted with the whole 'free Anakin' business rather than going to another shop and trying a mind trick again - well, it was the will of the Force, wasn't it! At least, QG believed that it was and he was infamous for doing whatever he felt was right, otherwise known as 'what I must'.
     
  7. SithStarSlayer

    SithStarSlayer Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2003
    Blunder?

    Qui Gon needed hyperdrive parts...

    and he got them without spending one Credit. Mission accomplished.
     
  8. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    Because Watto would have no reason to lie about being the only one who had that specific type of hyperdrive. Specially after he learned Qui-Gon had nothing of value.

    Galactic Deal Tips for Dummies, by Qui-Gon Jinn.
     
    SithStarSlayer likes this.
  9. Samuel Vimes

    Samuel Vimes Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Again you misunderstand.
    Qui-Gon does the following:
    1) Go to another trader, one not Force immune.
    2) Use his republic credits and "convince" the trader to accept them.
    3) Buy goods and equipment of equal or greater value than the parts he needs.
    4) Go back to Watto and barter said goods for what he needs.
    Simple and won't take much time.
    If he is really eager to get Anakin, all he needs is some more goods and simply buy Anakin and Smhi from Watto.

    Bye for now.
    Old Stoneface
     
  10. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    That could happen, but a sandstorm got in the way. Then a kid with an unusual Force potential was introduced, and presented a solution that could solve his problems.
     
    Samnz likes this.
  11. Samnz

    Samnz Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Yep. I also think that people should just accept that Qui-Gon's not perfect. Yes, he is Qui-Gon, but he's not perfect. He got detracted by Anakin. He was impressed by Anakin. He felt Anakin's importance and allowed his focus to be shifted a bit. Yet - surprise, surprise - that exactly led to Naboo's liberation! Anakin destroyed the Droid Control Ship. Qui-Gon was obviously right. So no problem here.

    If anything, it was Padmé who should have advocated another way to go. And - don't be surprised again - that's exactly what she did! She complained a lot. She didn't support Qui-Gon's approach at all. Unfortunately at the time, but fortunately in the end (since Anakin helped them a lot), she was just a simple handmaiden with no power of decision :)
     
  12. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    Indeed: "Are you sure about this? Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know?"

    Qui-Gon had faith in Anakin and believed he was more than a mere slave with some potential. That's something to take into account.
     
  13. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012

    "The Queen would not approve."
    "The Queen doesn't have to know."
    "Well, I don't approve."

    Makes me wonder if he already knows she's the Queen and is teasing her in that respect, knowing she's not going to reveal she is the Queen yet.
     
    Emperor Ferus likes this.
  14. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    He does, and Obi-Wan knows as well. That's why they both smile to each other when she reveals herself.
     
  15. only one kenobi

    only one kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2012

    The thing is....isn't Anakin's destruction of the droid ship a little....unnecessary? Padmé has the TF leaders who can be ordered to turn the droids off. The capture of Gunray at al makes the whole 'Anakin saved the day' a bit, well, redundant and...wrong.
     
  16. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    However, she didn't know his capture was going to be successful, not to mention, it would also help by avoiding anymore death.
     
  17. only one kenobi

    only one kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2012


    But it was successful, and the droid ship could be shut down through the command of Gunray, so Anakin's actions aren't required to save Naboo.
     
  18. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    Again, she didn't know that when she presented her plan. You're judging her decision based on future events.
     
  19. only one kenobi

    only one kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2012


    I don't understand...when did Padmé plan to have Anakin destroy the droid ship?
     
  20. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    Nobody planned to have Anakin on a ship to begin with. What she did plan was a starfighter assault to the droid control ship. You argue that there was no need for that. I argue she was playing safe since she didn't know the outcome.
     
  21. only one kenobi

    only one kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2012

    Nope. You are putting an argument into my words that is simply not there. I was responding to the line of thought that said...from Samnz, that it was Anakin's actions that lead to the liberation of Naboo. I was pointing out that Padmé had captured the TF leadership and so that was what liberated Naboo; that Anakin's actions were redundant. Whether he destroyed the droid ship or not Naboo would have been liberated by Padmé, the Naboo and the Gungans.
     
  22. Beezer

    Beezer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 5, 2013
    Here's my interpretation of this:

    Qui-Gon walks into Watto's store first. His attempt to gain repairs to his ship are a dead end, but he stumbles upon Anakin, who invites him to take shelter with him and his mother so they all have a nice dinner. After this point, there are about 1,000 other options Qui-Gon has to get from Tatooine to Coruscant but he wants to stick around for a little while longer to discover who this mysterious little boy really is. So instead of chartering a ride (with no questions asked) or trying to convert his currency, he becomes a bit focused on the boy moreso than the original mission.
     
  23. TX-20

    TX-20 Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 21, 2013
    Anakin happened.
     
  24. Tornado Wrangler

    Tornado Wrangler Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 22, 2013
    Yes, this is what the writers establish that Qui-Gon is thinking. His interest in Anakin is clear. However, he immediately (only hours after meeting him) "trusts their fate" to him by betting their ship that he can WIN the podrace, something that realistically had a very low chance of happening. He's never even finished a race.

    Here's the issue: Anakin's not going anywhere. Qui-Gon should have gotten them off the planet without gambling their fate, and come back for Anakin after the Naboo Crisis. Then he could have brought something of local value and simply purchased Anakin and his mother from Watto.

    Of course, that would have made for a crappy movie. The easy solution that could have made all of this more believable would be for Qui-Gon not to have any money with him in the first place.

    Also, to be clear: I'm not hating on Qui-Gon the person. I like the character and the way he does things. I'm pointing out things that the writers didn't think of when they wrote it. I didn't notice any of this stuff the first times I saw the movie. But when you really put yourself in the character's shoes and think: what would be the best thing to do if this really happened - you start to see options the writers forgot to address.


    Touche!

    If results are all you look at, then his play was absolutely perfect, I agree.
     
  25. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    That's simply not true. The same complaint you are making here is in the movie itself, coming from Padmé. But Qui-Gon simply smiles and teases because he has faith in Anakin and the risk he takes (in the eyes of Padmé and the audience) is all part of his character.

    This reminds me of the whole Jar Jar hate. People complain that he's pathetic and annoying, but that's exactly what he's meant to be. Obi-Wan complains about that very same thing as well. Ironically, Qui-Gon is also the character that saw something more in him than meets the eye.