PT Was Bail Organa a Wasted Opportunity in the PT?

Bail Organa is an interesting character. In Star Wars, we are introduced to him as Leia's father and are told of his connection to Obi-Wan, as General Kenobi served him in the Clone Wars. Bail needed his expertise to help him against the Empire and the Death Star. All very cool.

But Kenobi never served Organa. I don't think he was ever even shown on Alderaan. In AOTC, Bail has a few lines and just stands around during the political scenes. He doesn't get anything to do until halfway through ROTS, when he takes the Blockade Runner out to round up Jedi. Again, great but it comes across as too little, too late. Like the only reason he is there is because he needs to take Leia. His real meaty scenes in the film were deleted.

My question is: should Bail Organa and by extension Alderaan been a bigger part of the story? Obi-Wan does allow him to take Leia, which makes little sense if they aren't friends. Obi-Wan even said he does not trust politicians. I think having him a bigger part of the action, maybe with Obi-Wan as a leader in the Clone Wars instead of just talking a bunch would have been better.

 

I don't think Jimmy's Bail was wasted, merely severely undercut and under used rather like Garrick's Biggs' in TSW. I do think Bail and Alderaan should've been shown more so people actually empathise with Alderaan in TSW (unlike Leia).

Though I don't think 'action' is the only manner of inclusion of merit.

 

Well, certainly an underused character. He should have been seen a lot more IMO. We do get to see more of him TCW, and in maybe more in Rebels. Heck, Jimmy could,even get to,return to the screen in Rogue One... An ideal movie to show Bail as a Rebel leader.

 

I consider action to be moving the plot along or being part of the plot, which he really wasn't until the Temple scene.

 

For you perhaps.

 

Yeah he's a bit underused. Which is why his deleted ROTS scenes need to be put back in. Also like Padme, I'm hoping the character will get his own novel one day.

I do like the idea of Jimmy Smit being in Rogue One and he is around the perfect age.

 

He should have been used a bit more TPM and AOTC. The Rebellion scenes also need to be back in ROTS.

 

Was Alderaan underused? I'm going to say no. We do in fact see Bail on Alderaan at the end of ROTS. Meanwhile, it's not necessarily a major part of the Saga.

Bail Organa is another story. There was a bit of a false start with The Phantom Menace, Adrian Dunbar's introduction to the character would have sufficed, but we had to wait until Attack of the Clones to get a glimpse of the character. Though I do like the character's implementation in Revenge of the Sith. While the movies have little opportunity to show Obi-Wan "serving under him in the Clone Wars," I think a more sizable presence in Attack of the Clones would have done a lot.

 

You easily have replaced the role of Queen Amidala of Naboo with King Organa of Alderran with Padme being the senator from there instead. That's how it is in the original notes.

Obi-Wan serves King Organa during the Trade Federation invasion of his planet, prevents an assassination during the Clone Wars, and prevents multiple attempts at invasion during the wars too.

 

This. No clue why those scenes were removed.

 

Whenever the term 'underused character' comes up around here, Bail is the first one that comes to mind for me. I really enjoyed his limited performance in the PT and would've liked to have seen more of him. He was a strong human character who wasn't a Jedi / Sith and / or a member of the Skywalker family and I think as such added some good diversity to the films.

 

Because it took focus away from the story of the fall of Anakin or something. That's why they did away with Yoda arriving on Dagobah. Took away from the Skywalker family ending.

It really did.

 

Bail could have been the Lando Calrissian of the PT. A charismatic senator who is able to get people on his side and works the political game for a noble cause, and is friends with Padme, but catches on to Palpatine's evil schemes and is able to still maintain his cover as a pro-Republic/Empire Senator because he's just that smooth. Someone for Han to remind Leia of her father after he's killed.

But, like most things in the PT, the basics are there, the bare minimum, but Bail Organa is essentially walking plot. They cast the right person for it, but he just comes off like a political robot rather than a real flesh and blood character. Definitely a wasted opportunity.

I don't think that Alderaan had to be Naboo, but I would have liked to see more of it. I can see why it wasn't used as much, though.

 

I thought he was wasted in AOTC, but not in ROTS.

 

-shrugs-

He's a character from a different prequel trilogy, from earlier ideas/drafts, earlier conceptions.

I really dig Smits in the role, I think he adds a lot in a short period of time, but the Bail Organa that General Kenobi served under is just a different character from a different story. You could say the prequels were a wasted opportunity, based on that other story that people imagined after seeing the OT.

 

Sure, they could have explored Bail Organa in a more extensive way, but I don't see this as a missed opportunity. We can't make each character a main character and give them 80% of screentime, it's impossible. There have to be some priorities. The whole idea of Bail having or even needing a more prominent role is based on backwards argumentation because most of the people saw Episode IV first and people went on speculating about his past for decades, when - in reality - Bail was never much more than a throwaway character to establish a whatever-connection between Ben Kenobi and Leia. Obi-Wan serving him and the other Senators and the Republic during the Clone Wars is enough background to justify his mention in ANH.

He's a regular member of the Senate and it works fine like this, a seemingly unsignificant side character who moves up to a position of fame in one movie for only a short period of time because he helps saving a few of the last Jedi (Obi-Wan and Yoda). He doesn't have to be any more prominent and more connected with the other characters than this. The galaxy isn't a village after all, right?

If I had to choose a characer I could give more screentime to, it'd be Dooku.

 

Because movies have a limited running time and the focus on Anakin's story was more important for Lucas. He explains why he cut each of the deleted scenes in the DVDs.

Exactly. It's basic common sense.

 

I see this thread as just another attempt at lovelikewinter to PT bash (troll) in a more covert way.

Just as Samnz already pointed out, not every character can be a main character, and the PT wasn't a story about Bail Organa of Alderaan.

As far as Obi Wan serving Leia's father in the clone wars, Obi Wan did. The Jedi served the Senate, thus the Senators. Organa being a Senator, Obi Wan served him during the clone wars.

It may not be what people envisioned back in 1977 and the years after, and I bet Lucas changed it from even what he at one time meant it to be. However, the line from ANH still fits in with what we see in the PT.

 

Discussing perceptions that may not be favourable is not always trolling. Some want to act like PT or OT is without flaw, fine. But others simply discussing what they think may have been done better isn't bad, either.

 

Once again Cushing's please save it for someone else. I don't need you acting like my moral authority on any subject.

This guy has a long history of starting trouble with PT bashing on these boards. He has been warned numerous times, over and over. My skepticism of his starting this thread is not without rhyme or reason. Our posts do not just live in a vacuum within each thread.

 

The Rebellion scenes aren't even that long either: less than 5 min for all of them and the film was shorter than AOTC. It would also have the benefit of giving Padme something to do besides give birth and die.

 

That seems a bit simplistic, Winter but I do agree Padme being in those scenes and them being fully included may have helped not only her character but the flow of the film.

 

Would have been a nice set up for the Rebellion in the OT.

 

There's only so much time for side characters given how much story there was to tell.

 

The beginning of the Rebellion sounds pretty important imo.