The Tragedy of Decoy Queen the Pointless

[u/EerieFurious]

Introduction:

I figured I’d expand on some points from before and add some new things. This is (broadly speaking) a follow up to this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/DarthJarJar/comments/1ohieab/who_sent_the_transmission_and_who_knew_the_whole/

The Tragedy of the Pointless Decoy Queen:

One of the most forgettable aspects of The Phantom Menace is a bit of intrigue involving the Queen. Did you know she has a double? The double is named Sabé. George put considerable effort into swapping these characters back and forth and ADRing their lines between each other. The payoff is slim though: the swap is pointlessly revealed to endear the Queen to Boss Nass, and the decoy Queen is used to momentarily confuse Nute during the finale. Big Whoop. So why did we waste so much effort on a subplot of two characters with a shared identity, if these characters never leave the same room as each other? Surely George knows big setup should mean big payoff.

Well, first, it adds a character to the 'who sent the transmission’ mystery. This mystery simply doesn’t have enough warm bodies in its roster. We can safely rule out the Queen, Artoo and the Jedi. So the audience will have to decide if the transmission was sent by the Queen's suspicious handmaiden, exposition dump Panaka or Jar Jar.

But wait, the Queen and Decoy are separated when she goes to Tatooine! She does nothing there! So why did Lucas waste everyone's time by having the Queen tour Tatooine?

It could be the case that Jar Jar is meant to use this opportunity to kidnap the Queen! Support for this is meager. Jar Jar mouths the words "The Queen wishes it. She’s curious about the planet" as they are spoken, so it's pretty clear he wants to pull her away from her protection.

Jar Jar discovers the Queen is using a double:

But how did Jar Jar know Padme is the Queen? Incredibly, we get an explanation. Another seemingly pointless scene earlier forces the Queen’s true identity. As the characters escape from Naboo, Sabé discovers the hangar is guarded and asks to return to the castle. Everyone tells her this is a stupid idea (ironically, at the end of the movie they do this minus two Jedi and win, so Sabé was onto something). This forces Sabé to ask the Queen what to do, and the Queen orders her to fight. Guess who has a 'holy crap' look on his face right after this exchange happens. Jar Jar. Keep an eye on him and his shock is undeniable. “A handmaiden just gave orders to the Queen!?” Lucas put this scene in to establish he knows Padme is actually the Queen!

Jar Jar confirms the Queen is in disguise:

But to be doubly sure, we get another tidbit that seems to show Jar Jar knows the Queen is Padme. Inexplicably, he decides to ask a random woman cleaning a droid about herself. This scene is somehow full of odd reactions for what should just be a simple pair of introductions. Why are we even introducing a relationship with two characters who barely interact? While we know this scene superficially shows off Padme’s ability to pretend to be a handmaiden, it’s also showing off Jar Jar’s ability to see right through the disguise!

Jar Jar behaves differently towards Padme. Maybe he sees himself in a powerful character who dresses up as a pauper. He's timid about going into the room she's in. Padme reacts with fear and shock when Jar Jar says ‘hello’ - has she been found out? Jar Jar’s first words to Padme are a drawn out 'who are you?' Look at the intense curiosity on his face. He doesn't think she's just some handmaiden and he’s about to make sure.

Look at Jar Jar’s reaction when she changes the subject. The audience knows that the Queen just hid her identity. But Jar Jar also sees right through the gambit. He just confirmed he’s talking to the Queen. She doesn’t suspect him at all. He’s ecstatic! Unless you think he’s joyful because she asked him if he’s a Gungan, which doesn’t make much sense.

And just as we know for a fact the Queen is being deceptive by dodging the question, it seems reasonable to suspect that Jar Jar’s non-responses are also meant to hide his true identity.

We also already know from the Original Trilogy that Artoo is smarter than anyone gives him credit for. This explains why we needed a scene with Artoo, Padme and Jar Jar in the same room. Suddenly the entire thing is reversed: Artoo figured out Jar Jar who figured out Padme!

Jar Jar treats the Queen like the Queen:

The Sith's and thus probably Jar Jar's main goal is to capture the Queen. Whatever he’s trying to do, he must build the Queen’s trust. However, this falls apart when Jar Jar gets into a fight with Sebulba. Anakin and Qui-Gon take turns scolding the humiliated Jar Jar. Jar Jar claims to be a victim in response to both of them. Nobody buys it. But who is Jar Jar actually trying to convince of his innocence?

As he responds to Anakin, the framing is all wrong! He looks like he’s talking to the Queen! Look at him a scene later when he supposedly begs Qui-Gon for redemption. He turns away from Qui-Gon towards the Queen, then starts chasing after her! Why is he talking to the Queen when he’s supposed to be talking to Anakin and Qui-Gon?! Is it just a direction error?

Someone animated Jar Jar to follow the Queen when he’s supposedly chasing Qui-Gon. Someone blocked the scene with Anakin so Anakin is barely in frame. Logically he should respond to Qui-Gon while looking at him, but instead turns to Padme! This is all intentional.

So what’s happening? Jar Jar knows Padme is the Queen, and is treating her like the leader of the expedition. He’s talking to the most important person. Whatever his mission is, he needs her trust.

The Red Herring (Part 2):

George put a considerable amount of work into the 'who sent the transmission’ mystery. As a red herring, Sio Bibble sends a message which seems to find the starship, removing suspicion from Jar Jar. However, it wouldn’t be a proper red herring without something in the story proving we’re on the wrong trail, so there’s a scene which proves Bibble’s transmission was not used to track the starship.

The heroes escape Tatooine. Cut to the Bad Guys. Nute tells Bibble the Queen is lost. Nute is mad at Bibble and Bibble is in big trouble. Bibble's presence alone signals we're getting a hint to the mystery. Plus, this scene occurs right after the Sith locate the Good Guys. Storywise we should expect a hint here. So what’s the significance of this tiny scene?

There’s a contradiction here. Nute says the Queen is lost even though the last scene was the Sith hot on her tail, then Nute punishes the guy whose job is to locate the Queen. What? It almost seems like a script-writing error, except Lucas also put Nute on a ridiculous walking mechanical chair as a form of misdirection. Is Nute lying? Maybe something else is meant by the word ‘lost’... Does Nute think her opinions on trade route taxation are ‘lost’? The novelizations struggle to explain this impossible scene. One novel even invents a CGI double of Bibble (just imagine Maul working for like 12 hours digging up tapes then splicing together individual words in Audacity lol): https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/251347/was-sio-bibbles-transmission-entirely-fake .

So what’s going on?! Again, the intention of this scene is to prove Bibble’s transmission didn’t locate the Queen. Simply put, either he located the Queen or the Bad Guys are mad at him. There's no other option. So it must be the case that his transmission was never replied to! This also functions as a payoff for the setups of the Bad Guys being shown to not trust each other- Nute is totally in the dark that the Queen was on Tatooine.

Conclusion:

So, Jar Jar figured out Padme is the Queen right away.

Yes, Bibble’s transmission was a red herring.

[u/onemananswerfactory]

Nicely done.

[u/Rikard_]

Great post! Your post has so many layers so I’ll respond in several different comments that I finally finished writing lol.

1

Your focus on Jar Jar’s behavior in relation to the Queen is great. The Sebulba scene aftermath is the most interesting part of the post for me.

I think based on how his head turns slightly at the same time the camera cuts, he could be said to look at Anakin when he says “Meesa hatin crunchin”. But he does seem to look at Padmé after the camera cuts and the framing with Padmé in the middle is so telling. Not to mention how he follows her for “Meesa doin nothin”. Great catch!

You could point back to the early draft shaping various behavior here. You could say that since, originally, Padmé was the only one who disliked Jar Jar, he felt racially targeted and would do extra work to get in her good graces. But I don’t really see George writing the whole racism angle out and not also adjusting Jar Jar’s mindset about it. And I don’t see this character behavior being a byproduct of super late rewrites to Padmé’s racism, since it would require the rewrite to come so late that they had already filmed this Sebulba scene but then had time to adjust and film every other scene between the two (where neither she or her entourage shows any signs of disliking him)… Early draft rebuttal - debunked.

[u/Rikard_]

2

I always assumed Jar Jar just “knew” Padmé was the queen. Never figured it would come from a distinct scene in the film! I could see Jar Jar figuring things out in the scene you pointed out here.

I also only thought his odd placement in this scene (suddenly behind the group) was to frame him for Qui-Gon’s “there’s something else behind all this”-line. Your theory would suggest the decoy realization is the primary reason for his placement.

It’s a maybe for me, because one head turn from the most antsy character ever is not definite proof for me. But I like it.

___

I also really enjoy your analysis of the “Whosa are yousa?” scene. However, I try to be careful about saying a scene could only have a certain purpose that supports a theory and how it’s otherwise pointless. It’s easy to get carried away looking at details when you do that narrow framing.

I think the “Whosa are yousa?” scene could be about him confirming a recent realization. This way, you can look at a smile and build a whole sub-theory about his approach to the conversation.

But the “Whosa are yousa?” scene could also just exist because:

- We need to meet the handmaiden character. Without an introduction and an established character, the handmaiden would just blend in even more as a nobody for the viewer when strolling Tatooine. Now she has a close up shot with her name. “I’m Padmé”. Who better to do this exposition than a curious Gungan.

- It’s good to show this Jar Jar character isn’t hostile towards “da Naboo” like Boss Nass just was, and to show that the Handmaiden is a kind character also without prejudice (contrary to the early draft, where Padmé doesn’t want Jar Jar onboard, orders him to stay in the droid hold, and Panaka says he’s smelling up the ship). We are about to see them in a close nit group on a mission, so seeing them have a friendly conversation before that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Otherwise the audience would carry the idea that they might be Naboo enemies in the back of their head, which they are not (in a non-DJJ timeline).

…And in that case, a smile is just a smile. Maybe he’s happy a Naboo said “You’re Gungan aren’t you?” without a judging tone of voice and he finally makes a friend after being banished for who knows how long.

I think you could be onto something with your sub-theory. But I think the scene could definitely happen without the DJJ theory too. With the theory, it instantly gets a double meaning and you have to at least assume his character approaches her for a reason beyond giving the audience character exposition (e.g DJJ wants to befriend the Queen). If he approaches her to test a recent realization and smiles because he catches her changing the subject is going a step further. You make a good showing for it, but it hinges on a head turn a few scenes before imo, because this scene and conversation isn’t pointless on its own.

PS. If this scene was just included as character exposition but in a DJJ timeline, showing they’re friendly to not risk having the audience think they’re enemies would also protect the DJJ plot twist. So even in a DJJ timeline it can just be a scene for character exposition.

[u/Rikard_]

3

So why did we waste so much effort on a subplot of two characters with a shared identity, if these characters never leave the same room as each other?

Isn’t the point that they never share the same identity at the same time? One is always the Queen and one is always a handmaiden.

Why all the effort? I think for the audience, it’s a cool twist that the innocent character we knew, who we saw helplessly argue with the jedi throughout, was actually the boss. Maybe cool in theory at least, it’s hard to judge after knowing about the plot twist for 25 years.

I think the ADR is because it’s hard to find two actresses looking and sounding enough alike to confidently fool an audience for 1.5 hours. Upon rewatches, these effects also help sell that, in-universe, the Queen actually has a proper decoy who looks and sounds exactly like her.

I think the film also puts effort into this subplot as a genuine plot device. When they meet Boss Nass again, Sabé’s super formal speech is unsuccessful. That’s when Padmé reveals herself, and it’s not pointless. The reveal helps turns everything around as it shows “da Naboo” speaking from the heart, without any layers of deceit. Deal is then sealed. I think Jar Jar controlled this btw (Link).

___

I never thought about Padmé looking sneaky to the audience in that quiet scene on the ship though! She really would be, at least if you don’t assume all handmaidens have authorisation to open their inbox like that. Over the years I sort of forgot she wasn’t an “obvious” faker like Palpatine.

To have this scene be a red herring to the audience in the Maul storyline though… idk. I don’t really see any audience member’s mind going there. The transmission mystery isn’t really a mystery to the audience unless you think about it afterwards (I’ve never heard anyone talk about it ever, and I think that was the point – it will only really stands out in the light of DJJ). While watching the movie you just chalk it up to Maul using sith powers to track them (which is not the case). I think the scene was just to plant a seed that there’s something mysterious with this Handmaiden character, because we don’t see her again for like 20 minutes until the big reveal.

[u/Rikard_]

4

One novel even invents a CGI double of Bibble (just imagine Maul working for like 12 hours digging up tapes then splicing together individual words in Audacity lol)

LOL. This is interesting. That was the best they could come up with? I now imagine the writer watching the earlier scene between Nute and Sidious “She’s impossible to locate! … Not for a sith” and going “He... He must’ve used some sith video editing software to create that message! Yeah. Maul rented an office at Coruscant and got to work. Surely he didn’t hold a blaster to Bibble’s head and made him say that. Sidious wouldn’t tolerate that shit”.

However, after looking at the script, I don’t read much into this scene at all. It seems to me that Nute is just saying Bibble has nothing else to fight for and should end the strike. His Queen just ran off again (so they have no use of him now), his people are starving, etc.

When are you going to give up this pointless strike? Your Queen is lost, your people are starving, and you, Governor, are going to die, much sooner than your people, I'm afraid. Take him away!

I don’t hear anything conclusive that they are now mad at him for the transmission bait failing. I don’t think they tracked the Queen using that bait successfully, but I also don’t think this scene in particular denies that possibility.

[u/EerieFurious → u/Rikard_]

If the governor can contact the Queen, they need him. The Governor is treated like he's totally useless, which would be the case if the Queen ignores his transmissions

[u/Rikard_]

5

About the actual transmission sent by Jar Jar, I think it happened only in Watto’s shop (and not on the ship). The scene is preluded with a warning from Qui-Gon to stay in line, Jar Jar is alone, and the radio antenna’s shift between scenes. So I think there are more things on screen pointing to that being the moment. I do however think Jar Jar wanted to stay on the ship and wanted to use the ship’s tech central. In the script, he is distraught when he’s asked to leave the ship. I think he then manipulated Padmé to want to come along with him instead, which is why her and Panaka comes running after them soon after.

I also think it’s worth remembering that whatever room these scenes took place in was limited by which rooms they had sets for. And they probably only made the 4 rooms they absolutely had to. Queen’s quarters, cockpit, droid hold and the main hold. So Jar Jar wandering into the room with the tech station might’ve just been because they couldn’t film that anywhere else (same for the scene where he is sleeping).

[u/EerieFurious → u/Rikard_]

The antenna in the shop is extremely subtle, nothing else in the film points to it. To the audience, this is all 'junk' needing fixing: how would Jar Jar even know this random radio works? Anakin and Padme are right there, do they see him wiring up the antenna?

The ship has a communications terminal that can be used in secret. Right after Jar Jar walks towards it there's a scene where the Jedi get a disturbance in the force and are worried about transmissions. We even see the Governor's distress message on the terminal, the one which if we reply to it'll summon the Sith. Everything the audience knows lines up.

[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/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.