The Mandalorian's Ahmed Best Sees The Force In Star Wars As Being Similar To Water
This post contains spoilers for "The Mandalorian" season 3
"Star Wars" fans were treated to quite the surprise in the middle of "The Mandalorian" season 3, with Chapter 20 of the series bringing back an actor who has, to say the very least of it, a complicated relationship with the franchise. That actor is Ahmed Best, who famously played Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy, beginning with a very sizable part in "The Phantom Menace." But in the episode, titled "The Foundling," Best returned to the prequel era not as a Gungan, but as a Jedi.
In the episode, we flashback to Order 66 and the attack on the Jedi Temple, where Anakin Skywalker famously slaughtered many younglings on his path to becoming Darth Vader. During the fight, we see the incident from another perspective, with a Jedi named Kelleran Beq rushing in to save Grogu from the ensuing chaos. The Jedi is incredibly adept at using the Force, and comes off looking like a total hero, including the wielding of two lightsabers.
Beq is played by Best, a role he actually originated on the competition series "Jedi Temple Challenge," where he was adept at guiding younglings in Jedi training. In speaking to StarWars.com following the episode's debut, Best explained how he thinks of the Force, and it's pretty fascinating.
"To me, the Force is not just this thing that Jedi tap into when they want to throw something heavy. The Force is this thing that is constantly moving. You're always interacting with it. I see it as like, if you're under water and you're moving through water, that's what it feels like moving with the Force. So trusting the Force means trusting that these ebbs and flows of this feeling, you can move with."
For as much as certain fans maligned Best and his performance as Jar Jar, that absolutely sounds like a man who understands "Star Wars" on a deep level.
The waves of the Force
Best helped to pioneer motion capture technology with Jar Jar, something that virtually every major blockbuster uses now. The man did what he was asked to do by George Lucas, and yet, he took the hit and was subjected to vitriolic hatred from viewers for years. So seeing him kick this much ass as a Jedi was pretty cathartic for certain viewers, and it certainly was for Best.
The actor was actually an active participant in crafting Beq for "The Mandalorian," alongside the show's executive producers, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. His explanation of how he likens the Force to water actually informed how he carried out his scenes. Speaking further, Best explained:
"In every single situation of this, I'm really trying to tune into this bigger feeling of the Force. When I'm getting attacked by Clone Troopers, I feel them coming. The waves of the Force are moving me before they even show up. So I know what's about to happen, because I feel the wave, and then I can react to the wave. Same thing on the speeder. I can feel the ship coming, so then I can react to it. I see him really having a lot of trust in this ability to surf the Force."
In the end, Best had the opportunity to have a significant impact on a hugely important part of "Star Wars" lore, and has been largely celebrated for it. In an era when so much discussion about this franchise can be toxic or just plain not fun online, this was a nice moment, and we hope to see him return.