87
The small details and big lessons
of Forces of Destiny
Star Wars Forces of Destiny, Season 1, Episode 3, “Ewok Escape”
Writer: Jennifer Muro
In Return of the Jedi, Princess Leia is separated from the Endor strike team, finds a new friend in Wicket, and reappears as the Ewoks’ apparent guest of honor in Bright Tree Village, wearing a fancy new dress. Did the Ewoks make it for her? Did they just have a collection of dresses in a back hut? Did she request the dress? How did Princess Leia go from Combat Poncho Ready to Forest Dress Sheik? It was a question many had been asking since 1983 and we finally got the answer. It wasn’t on the big screen, in a novel, or even a comic book. The answer…as well as several other little details and fun canon morsels…arrived in the 2017 YouTube animated series Force of Destiny.
Written initially by Jennifer Muro and later Nicole Dubuc, the series has the daunting duty of being directly aimed at a younger generation of Star Wars fans—and in many cases completely new younger fans—while also attempting to satisfy the old guard in this current era of mining every corner of Star Wars content for canon implications and saga-expanding moments while focusing on the female characters in Star Wars.
I wouldn’t have been brave enough to try that.
Yet Jennifer Muro came out swinging with the first eight episodes. Seamlessly working in charming, offbeat fun stories with traditionally big Star Wars morality lessons, Forces of Destiny is a bite-sized, delightful thrill. Combine this with the Hasbro line of action dolls and it’s the perfect recipe for Star Wars made for kids.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ADULTS? CAN ADULTS WATCH IT?
Calm down.
Yes. Yes, they can.
To date, the series has presented fans intriguing moments built around popular characters in previously never before seen—or even thought of—team-ups with other popular characters. It also led to a reunion of Clone Wars characters and voices fans thought they’d never see again. (This was before the celebrated return of The Clone Wars series.) And it even gave us Mark Hamill voicing Luke Skywalker in a tale set during the original trilogy! All impressive points on the resume of this micro series, but you might have easily overlooked all of this. Written this whole series off as kid’s stuff. But in every moment of this series, the DNA of Star Wars can be found. Forces of Destiny episodes aren’t love letters to Star Wars—they’re little postcards.
The series succeeds best when it has fun with the little corners of Star Wars where the saga doesn’t have time to slow down and provide us with those tiny details we crave. This is embodied best by the revelation of Leia’s dress. Was this a giant, perplexing issue for Star Wars fans? No. Not at all. However, it was discussed. People wondered. People joked about it. People wanted answers.
And answers they received! Leia and Wicket are leaving their Return of the Jedi interaction with the biker scouts when they run into some evil agents of the Empire, dreaded stormtroopers, harassing two other Ewoks. Without hesitation, Wicket jumps in to save the day. While the Empire is knee-deep in overlooking the might and threat of the Ewoks, Leia immediately sees an ally. She helps save the Ewoks and is presented with a gift. The dress we’ve known, loved, and questioned since 1983. She accepts the gift, asks for a spear, and cements a partnership that would eventually topple the Empire.
It’s perfect.
The series goes on to teach bigger themes for sure. Ahsoka learns the value of individuality from Yoda, something that would factor into her leaving the Jedi Order. Padmé shows her diplomatic acumen in solving problems. Jyn Erso, a criminal on the run, displays her good-natured heart in helping a young stranger. Time and time again, Forces of Destiny builds wonderful moments out of the saga’s core DNA and it constantly reminds fans the importance of passing on the love of Star Wars to the next generation. Small lessons and big reminders for everyone with the gift of answers for a generation in the making.
86
The epilogue of Jar Jar Binks
Empire’s End: Aftermath
Author: Chuck Wendig
Jar Jar Binks deserves a moment in this book.
He really does.
Yes, one cannot deny the truth of the situation. We are all aware of the history of this character, the backlash against it, and the emotional and psychological toll it took on Ahmed Best, the charismatic artist and performer that portrayed him. Jar Jar Binks incites opinions. Understandably. However, the character exists. He is part of the Star Wars story. And he has fans.
Many watching The Phantom Menace in 1999 did not connect with Jar Jar Binks and they never will. Their arms are figuratively and literally crossed. The line is drawn. Yet George Lucas will say—until he is as blue in the face as his Revenge of the Sith character Baron Papanoida—that he specifically created Jar Jar Binks with kids in mind and it is those young fans, now stretching across different Star Wars generations, that connect with Jar Jar. The character continues to reach these fans and the ones that grew up with him from 1999 on still have a soft spot for him. Yep, they grow up and start to connect with other characters and movies, but, much like the Ewoks of Return of the Jedi, Jar Jar was part of their entry point into the saga.
So, yes, Jar Jar Binks is a reason to love Star Wars.
Author Chuck Wendig made many strong and bold choices in his Aftermath trilogy of novels set in the days and months right after the Rebels’ victory on Endor. He painted a realistic picture of the galaxy following a vicious war that toppled a ruling government. The war truly did not end when the Ewoks danced and sang with our heroes. He assured the diversity of the galaxy, and therefore this real-world franchise, was wider than it was before he put pen to paper. He dealt with tough, nuanced issues. He made a battle droid a lovable character. (More on THAT later.) However, beyond all that, the bravest thing Chuck Wendig did was bring Jar Jar Binks into this modern Star Wars era in the final book of the trilogy, Aftermath: Empire’s End.
The epilogue of Jar Jar Binks, found in one of the trilogy’s’ trademark interludes, is absolutely one of the most heart-wrenching and touching moments in Star Wars. We go to Theed, the capital of Naboo, the planet on which we all first met Jar Jar and meet Mapo, a ten-year-old refugee of the Galactic Civil War. His parents died because of the Empire, but the theme is clear: the Rebel victory had many unforeseen costs. Mapo is now a maimed orphan and, at ten, one of the “older” refugees that gather in the city and unlikely to get adopted like the others.
Mapo is taken to a Gungan referred to as the clown, but he identifies himself as Jar Jar and the two quickly connect over the shared feeling of abandonment and neglect from everyone and everything. No one talks to Mapo and no one talks to Jar Jar. They both feel that they don’t belong anywhere.
Jar Jar Binks was a war hero heralded by his people for bridging the divide with Naboo, helping to win a war, and later proudly serving his planet alongside Padmé Amidala on the capital planet of Coruscant. But he fell prey to the machinations of a Sith Lord and proposed the motion to give Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers, unwillingly paving the path for the Clone War and the rise of the Emperor himself. (Almost as if George was saying, “Fine. You hate him? Now you can blame him for everything.”) Following the end of that war and the rise of Palpatine’s Empire, Jar Jar Binks was banished by his own people and forgotten by any friend he may have had left. He had no place left in the galaxy. He was a casualty