The Best Things 10 Characters Did In The Prequels
The opening crawl of Episode III – Revenge of the Sith states: "There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere."
As we all know, evil eventually succeeded, with most of the Jedi dead and the rest gone into hiding, the Republic replaced by an Empire, Padme dead, and Anakin Skywalker turned into Darth Vader. But even before that, most of the prequel trilogy was basically a tragedy, with the Jedi unable to sense the eminent danger of the dark side all around them and a galaxy torn apart by war.
And although most actions led to a bitter ending, there were still heroes, and today we’re going to look at the best things 10 characters from the prequels have done:
1. Qui-Gon Jinn
Although he only appeared in Episode I, the wise Jedi had a lasting impact on the whole saga. He sensed the potential in young Anakin, brought him to the Jedi Temple (although he was technically too old to start training), and made Obi-Wan promise to train the boy, shortly before his death. Of course, this didn’t work out well after the end of the war, but ultimately Anakin returned to the light side and brought back balance to the Force.
2. Shmi Skywalker
Anakin’s mother never doubted her son, although it was obvious that he was different from other kids. Starting with his conception without a father, his superhuman reflexes, and his obsession with the dangerous pod-races, she always supported Anakin. And she didn’t hesitate to let him go with the Jedi, having no indication of whether she would ever see him again, because she knew that becoming a Jedi was the best for her son.
3. R2-D2
The little astromech droid was the Swiss army knife of the prequel trilogy, saving the day countless times, so it’s hard to pinpoint one single best thing that he did. But a very important and quite dangerous task was the outer-space repair of Queen Amidala’s spaceship when they tried to escape the blockade of the Trade Federation in Episode I. If R2-D2 hadn’t succeeded, Padme, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan would probably have been shot down by the droid fighters of the Neimoidians.
4. Obi-Wan Kenobi
It is true that Obi-Wan failed to save his padawan from turning to the dark side, and his refusal to kill him led to thousands dying by the hand or the will of Darth Vader. But Obi-Wan was also a hero of the Clone Wars, who bested Darth Maul and killed General Grievous, which should have been the end of the war, if Palpatine hadn’t played both sides. But the best thing he did was to bring young Luke to his uncle and his aunt, so that Vader and the Empire couldn’t find him.
5. Dexter Jettster
His role in the prequels may be small, but quite important, as he gave Obi-Wan the lead to the Kaminoans, thus leading to the discovery of the clone army and helping to save Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme in the first Battle of Geonosis.
6. Chewbacca
The Wookiee’s time to shine came in the Original Trilogy, but in Episode III, he not only fought against the Separatists on his homeworld, but also helped Yoda to survive after Order 66 and to flee Kashyyyk, so the Jedi Master could ultimately escape to Dagobah, to wait there for a youth whom he could train to be a Jedi.
7. Sabé
Padme’s handmaiden was not only a close friend to the Queen of Naboo, but also acted as her decoy during the Invasion of Naboo, distracting Nute Gunray, and giving Padme and Panaka the chance to take back the palace of Theed.
8. Padme
Like that of most characters of the prequel trilogy, Padme’s story ends tragically. But during her relatively short life, she did some impressive things, like opposing the blockade of the Trade Federation, taking back Naboo, and fighting with the Jedi in the Battle of Geonosis. But surely the most important thing she did was to give birth to Luke and Leia, even though she didn’t live to see them grow up.
9. Bail Organa
Even though there is a cut scene from Episode III showing the very first steps of what would many years later become the Rebel Alliance, the most important actions of the senator of Alderaan happened after the prequel trilogy, with his steady support for the resistance against the Empire. But the best thing he did before that was to take Leia as his adoptive daughter, raising her on Alderaan and helping to form the person who could later lead the Rebel Alliance, the New Republic, and even the Resistance against the First Order.
10. Anakin Skywalker
Anakin’s deeds at the end of Revenge of the Sith surely overshadow everything, but there are clearly a lot of great things that the the young Jedi did during the prequel trilogy, like saving Padme’s and Obi-Wan’s lives various times, or winning the Boonta Eve podrace, helping the Jedi and Padme to leave Tatooine. But the best thing he did happened even before that, when he blew-up the droid control ship during the end battle of Episode I, turning the tide in this fight against the droid army and finally ending the Invasion of Naboo.