Unaddressed plot points

Hello all, I'm not sure if these points have been addressed already on this forum (I'm sure they have been, but I searched and couldn't find the thread), so here are some plot points in TPM that keep bothering me, and always had since I first saw it in the theatres in '99. If they've already been addressed before, I apologize. Let me preface this by saying, though, that this isn't a bash of the movie per se, I really do like this movie. But there are some pretty blaring errors in plot, these to name a few.

Jar-jar as a navigator.. what navigator? He was asked to be freed by Qui-gon for the purpose of helping to navigate them through the planet core, presuming he's very familiar with his native planet. But once the ride begins, Qui-gon states that the force is guiding them. Jar-jar does nothing whatsoever to help. Was Qui-gon lying to Boss Nass, since he fear Jar-jar would be killed if he stayed (though the line about being trampled to death was removed from the movie, so there's no reason to think that he'd die). Did Lucas decide later in production that Jar-jar wouldn't navigate, and would just freak out instead? I guess there's no way to answer this question (unless Lucas talked about it), but this error takes so much value away from Jar-jar's character from the very beginning I think, which is why I consider it a major plot error. He's useless from the beginning.

The supreme chancellor secretly dispatching two jedi knights to deal with the situation. Why?! That was never explained, and I think it really should have been for so many reasons. The supreme chancellor had almost no character whatsoever, though the opening scroll actually sets up an interesting and intelligent way for him to turn into one.. someone who somehow has some idea of the sith influence or something. The specific reason the jedi were dispatched was never addressed, period. It could have added a lot of depth, I can only imagine that back story.

Palpatine becoming supreme chancellor. It's the purpose of the entire plot in a sense, but the way it happened was haphazard. Assume just for the moment that Palpatine and Sidious are the same person with the same goal, for sake of argument. If Queen Amidala had signed the treaty making the trade federation's control of her planet legal, how would supreme chancellor Valorum have been removed? Queen Amidala wouldn't have come to Coruscant to protest obviously, and since there was no "conflict" in the first place, there would have been no reason to remove Valorum. What was the purpose of the treaty then? Was it simply that he knew Amidala wouldn't sign it and would come and protest (which doesn't really make sense, because they didn't need a treaty for her to do that). If the invasion had been successful, things in the senate would have maintained the status-quo. Sidious was so adamant about having that treaty signed, but why?

If anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or other similar plot issues I'd love to hear them. Thank you for reading my long jibba-jabba.

EDIT: silly spelling errors

 

The QGJ - Jar Jar thing...
QGJ sees the potential in everything. He is open-minded. He knows that Jar Jar does not deserve to be killed (while it's not mentioned on screen, we can tell from the way the punishment is mentioned and reacted to that it is SOMETHING severe).
I don't think Qui-Gon actually intended for Jar Jar to navigate. He just wanted a decent reason to tell Boss Nass, to bargain for Jar Jar's life/freedom/whatever.
Because he senses something in Jar Jar... something more useful.


The other things have been fielded before and I'm too lazy. It basically boils down to "Palpatine = l33t h4x0r with manipulation 5k1ll5".



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

About Plapatine,

he probably set up the blockade as Darth sidious to have an excuse to remove valorum form office.he didn't know the queen would do it for him personally.if she hadn't he would have had someone else to do it

 

What? The Jedi Knights a plot hole? *scratches head* Unless I'm senile, which I'm almost sure I am, then the opening credits say "Jedi Knights, keepers of order and peace in the galaxy". A massive army blockading a nearly defensless planet doesn't sound like something the local police can take care of. The Chancellor, most likely from Palpatine's suggestion (I believe it was said so in the original script or novel), sent the specialists to take care of it. He didn't want a war breaking out on Naboo.

Cometgreen

 

Although I haven't read it, the TPM novelization might explain some of your questions.

 

The supreme chancellor secretly dispatching two jedi knights to deal with the situation. Why?! That was never explained, and I think it really should have been for so many reasons.[/i]

It's right there in the opening. They were sent to Naboo to settle a conflict between the planet Naboo and the TF.

All right there in the crawl.

 

The Blockade wasn't legal, no blockade is legal, which is why the Jedi were sent in the first place. They told the Republic cruiser that the Blockade was legal upon approach because they thought they could get away with detering them in negotiations etc, but the Neimodians are weak minded and would not be able to hide their true thoughts from the Jedi so D.Sideous told them to kill everyone. If that was't the case not only would the dispute be settled in the senate but the Jedi wouldn't be needed. Becuase they destroyed the ship they needed to force the queen to sign a treaty making the whole excersise seem like it was a invitation to assist the Naboo in other words a legal invasion. they failed in that aswell when the Queen escaped. Now the very fact that the Jedi arrived on a republic ship and the both parties alerted to its arrival means the secrecy element has absolutley no value whatsoever. Attempted murder is illegal, invasion is illegal and blockading is illegal. Once the jedi return with a series of accusations and witnesses to what has occured, the TF should have been delt with.

Further more if the TF were sucessful and killed all onboard including the jedi, then proceeded to sucessfully capture the queen and make her sign the treaty, then there would be nobody to question the leadership of the Chancellor and he would still hold his position. Palpatine by himself would have no reason to do so because as ambassador of the new Naboo/TF alliance he would be in position of both assumed puppet and puppet master. Therefore the contriving of events to make Senator Palpatine suggest to the Queen on an unexpected arrival at courascant to vote for a no confidence in the chancellor and cause am emergency election in order to assume the coverted role of Chancellor for himself, only works if D.Sideous had an alternate original plan in line should events have gone the way he expected. He didn't, the whole thing isn't plotted through thouroughly at all.

If it made no difference if the queen escaped or not, then he wouldn't have had to send D.Maul after her. The Jedi return with information about the invasion and there isn't even a scene with them confronting the Chancellor about their findings for him to even deliberate on what he's going to do with the information they returned with, nothing. The poor character remained as two dimensional as his name on paper, never given the chance to show purpose in his action or influences that guided his motives. It was a poor attempt at a masterplan with an alterior motive, but it simply played out like a series of visual set pieces with little substance behind it.

 

Anyone ever hear of 'slight of hand'?

What you do over here, the audience doesn't see, but they see the pretty waving of your other hand?

Same deal here. Sidious make conflict out of nothing, used the conflict against Vallorum and to boost himself, then ended the conflict as if it was his leadership that did it, against boosting himself.

He does the SAME thing with the Clone Wars but this time it's on a MUCH grander scale.

The man is quite simply a genius. The most deadly weapon is information and how you spin it, and it's also the most silent.

-GAT

 

sideous wanted Amidala to sign the treaty. If she had signed it, palpatine wouldve taken it to the senate and said "look at whats happened! this government is a joke! the federation have our planet!" etc. in the end, amidala and the jedi make his plan work even better than he had planned by going there in person. sidious is palpatine, btw.

Qui Gonn wanted to free JJ.

 

sideous wanted Amidala to sign the treaty. If she had signed it, palpatine wouldve taken it to the senate and said "look at whats happened! this government is a joke! the federation have our planet!" etc. in the end, amidala and the jedi make his plan work even better than he had planned by going there in person. sidious is palpatine, btw.

Exactly.
Palpatine had devised a plan of showing how ineffective Valorum's Chancellorship was.
The basics are that one the TF invaded Naboo, and got a treaty signed allowing them to basically control the planet, then Palpatine or his supporters could say,
"This is totally wrong, how can you stand there as Supremem Chancellor and allow the Trade Federation to just take Naboo? Is this how we are supposed to put up with your ineffectiveness? Senators, if Valorum has allowed this to happen to my world, then imagine what will happen to your worlds! I call for a vote of no confidence against Valorum!"

Simple
He gets Valorum out, and with his Darkside manouverings he gets into power.


The supreme chancellor secretly dispatching two jedi knights to deal with the situation. Why?! That was never explained, and I think it really should have been for so many reasons. The supreme chancellor had almost no character whatsoever, though the opening scroll actually sets up an interesting and intelligent way for him to turn into one.. someone who somehow has some idea of the sith influence or something. The specific reason the jedi were dispatched was never addressed, period. It could have added a lot of depth, I can only imagine that back story.

It was explained. In the movie actually. The opening scroll told us that the Trade Federation were angry at a taxation which would cut into their profits, so what do they do? Blockade a planet and demand better terms.
So the Chancellor secretly sends two Jedi Knights to deal with the Trade Federation, not in a physical confrontation but to bargain with them and settle the dispute.
Pretty simple really.

The far more worryng thing really for me about the Jedi being sent was that they were being sent secretly. It's a dangerous hand to play especially when you haven't been given authorisation by the Senate to send them.

 

If there was any challenge to the validity of the claims, why didn't Amidala simply say, "Look, I was with Two JEDI, who can back my accusations as witnesses to the TF's criminal actions." Wouldn't the Jedi, sworn defenders to truth and justice, be considered honest and impartial witnesses? Couldn't they testify on the queen's behalf?

 

The Jedi who were secretly dispatched to force the Trade Federation to reach a settlement?

Are these independant, impartial witnesses, or a knife for the Supreme Chancellor's back?