Ashes to Ashes May the force be with you as you explore movies

I'm several decades late to the game, but I've finally taken up watching Star Wars for the first time. After seeing 'The Empire Strikes Back” at the Temple Theatre a while back and not really understanding what was going on, I decided to conquer this franchise that so many of my friends seem to be obsessed with. So far I've watched episodes one through six. My opinion: pretty good.

However, I do have some questions.

The next part of my column could be considered a spoiler so if you've held off and haven't watched the globally beloved series (and would like for the plot to remain a surprise), you might want to skip this.

My main gripe: why are the movies so heavy-handed on the hand losing?

I watched the installments mostly in the order they came out and the shock of dismemberment was novel the first two times it happened but then got to be a bit much. Did we really have to see Anakin lose a limb in that battle against Count Dooku? It was definitely overkill when we saw Count Dooku lose both arms AND his head in the following movie.

Let some of the characters keep their limbs!

My second question: what's up with Jar Jar Binks?

He goes from an exiled gungan to a stand-in for Padme Amidala in the Senate. Why was he the first choice? What political or diplomatic experience does he have that would convince Padme to trust him with such a role? In the entirety of the first movie, he's shown flopping around and being mostly unhelpful. It seems like a major jump to let him take over like that, especially when the fate of the Republic was already in delicate balance.

He's even the one who declares the Senate should give Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers, which leads to the return and rise of the dark side.

My last big question: Why is R2D2 the most lovable character of this entire movie franchise?

From the little beep sounds he makes, his loyalty to his human companions, the attitude he dishes to C3PO, he's simply the best. Honestly, he may be the most competent character in all of the Star Wars universe (although Princess Leia comes in as a close second). He's the tech control whenever the rebels are infiltrating enemy ships and manages to swoop in and save the day every time hope seems completely lost.

In my humble opinion, he deserves a medal for his work and far more attention than any of the Jedi characters get.

Anyway, I'm excited to continue making my way through the newer Star Wars movies. I'm told they're not as good and will include some disappointing character deaths, so I'm mentally preparing myself for that right now. If anyone would like to discuss the films and what they may or may not represent, please reach out. I think my friends are tired of listening to me talk about how I would have written the series if I had the mind of George Lucas and came up with the idea myself.