Recap / The Phantom Menace

Thirty years prior to Luke Skywalker becoming a hero of the Galactic Civil War, the galaxy - under the rule of the Galactic Republic - is thrown into turmoil when a galaxy-spanning MegaCorp known as the Trade Federation blockades the planet of Naboo in protest against trade route taxes. The head of the Republic, Supreme Chancellor Valorum, dispatches two Jedi - master Qui-Gon Jinn and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi - to the planet in order to negotiate an end to the dispute.

Unnerved by the presence of the two Jedi aboard his fleet’s flagship, Trade Federation viceroy Nute Gunray contacts his backer - a hooded figure going by the name of Lord Sideous - who instructs him to occupy Naboo and have the pair killed. The Jedi survive the attempts to kill them however, and discover the Trade Federation has amassed a huge army of battle droids in order to invade the planet. Hoping to warn the Naboo people and contact Valorum, they stow away with the invasion force and reunite on the planet. There they meet up with a Gungan - a race of aliens that live within Naboo’s underwater regions - named Jar Jar Binks. With the Federation’s droids a nearby menace, the Jedi convince Jar Jar to take them to his people’s city of Otoh Gunga, where they convince the local ruler Boss Nass to provide them with a submarine in order to get to the Naboo capital of Theed. Learning that Jar Jar will be punished for returning to the city, having previously been banished from it, Qui-Gon convinces Nass to let them take him with them.

The two Jedi and the Gungan reach Theed not long after the Federation occupies the city. There they rescue Queen Amidala - the planet’s ruler - and her entourage from the Federation’s droids, but learn that the Federation is preventing any interplanetary communications from Naboo, forcing them to travel to the Republic’s capital of Coruscant and meet with Valorum directly. Amidala is convinced to leave with them - both for her safety, and the hope that she can convince the Galactic Senate to intervene on Naboo’s behalf - and the group flee the planet in Amidala’s personal starship. They get shot at by the Federation blockade during their escape; while a plucky astromech droid by the name of R2-D2 pulls off vital repairs in space, damage to the ship’s hyperdrive makes it impossible for them to get to Coruscant. Back near Naboo, Sideous is incensed to learn of Amidala’s escape, and dispatches his apprentice Darth Maul to retrieve her and kill the Jedi.

Amidala’s ship flies to the planet Tatooine to get the necessary parts for repairs, with Qui-Gon, R2, Jar Jar and Padmé - one of Amidala’s handmaidens - heading into the spaceport of Mos Espa. They find the parts they need at a junk shop, but the shop’s owner - a Toydarian named Watto - refuses to take payment in Republic credits, and proves immune to a Jedi Mind Trick when Qui-Gon tries to make him change his mind on the matter with one. During the conversation between Qui-Gon and Watto, Padmé meets and has a chat with a slave of Watto’s named Anakin Skywalker, a boy with aspirations of leaving Tatooine and becoming a Jedi.

Following the visit to Watto, Qui-Gon’s group run into Anakin again, and the boy invites them to take shelter from a sandstorm with him and his mother Shmi, another slave of Watto’s. While at the Skywalker residence, the group reveal their predicament, and Anakin tells them about podracing, offering to win the money they need for their parts at a race due to take place on Tatooine tomorrow. Despite hesitation on the part of Qui-Gon, Padmé and Shmi, there’s no better option to get Amidala’s group to Coruscant, and so they reluctantly agree to get Anakin’s help. That night, Qui-Gon discovers Anakin to have great potential for using the Force, far more than any other Jedi.

The next day, Qui-Gon’s faith in Anakin is rewarded when the boy wins the race against all the odds, allowing Amidala’s group to get their ship parts and make the necessary repairs. Thanks to strategic bets made by Qui-Gon, Anakin is freed from Watto’s service, allowing him to leave the planet and fulfill his dreams. Shmi isn’t so lucky though, and Anakin is forced to leave her behind on Tatooine. As Qui-Gon and Anakin head back towards the starship, Maul ambushes the pair and engages Qui-Gon in a lightsaber duel, nearly overwhelming the Jedi before he manages to escape.

Their ship now repaired, Amidala’s group travel onto Coruscant, where they are welcomed by Valorum and Senator Sheev Palpatine, Naboo’s representative in the Galactic Senate. As Amidala discusses Naboo matters with Palpatine, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan pay a visit to the Jedi Council - headed by a younger Master Yoda - who have their main headquarters in a great temple on the planet. They inform the council about Maul, whom Qui-Gon suspects to be a Sith Lord - a small order of Force sensitives who make use of its dark side - but the council are skeptical due to how the Sith have been extinct for a millennium, and a belief they couldn’t return without the council knowing. Qui-Gon also brings up Anakin, whom he believes to be a prophesied chosen one destined to bring balance to the Force, and reveals his intent to take him on as an apprentice and train him as a Jedi.

Elsewhere, Palpatine warns Amidala that the Senate is unlikely to be sympathetic to her plight, and that Valorum is too shackled by bureaucracy to be of any help. Palpatine’s warnings are proven true when Amidala’s plea for aid is interrupted with denials and demand for an investigation by the Federation representative, with Valorum reluctantly acceding after other representatives call for the same. Disgusted at how far the Republic has fallen, Amidala acts on advice from Palpatine and calls for a vote of no-confidence in Valorum’s leadership; within a matter of hours, Valorum is removed from power, with Palpatine expected to succeed him. Unwilling to let her people wait for Palpatine to correct the Republic’s problems, Amidala resolves to return to Naboo - now completely occupied by the Federation - saying only that she intends to share their fate.

Around the same time as these events, Anakin meets with the Jedi Council to be evaluated for training. The council express concern when they notice how the boy’s thoughts dwell on his mother; they generally prefer to take younger recruits who haven’t yet formed such emotional connections, with Yoda explaining that fear - including fear of loss - can lead one towards the Dark Side of the Force. Ultimately the council rejects Qui-Gon’s request to take Anakin as his apprentice, and instructs him and Obi-Wan to travel to Naboo with Amidala, suspecting her presence will draw Maul out of hiding and allow the Jedi to learn more about him. With no other options for him, Qui-Gon has Anakin travel with him.

On the flight back to Naboo, Amidala reveals her goal is to liberate her people from the Federation’s grasp. After landing - the Federation having withdrawn its blockade since taking control of the planet - she and the others meet with Nass and the Gungans to try and get their help; during the discussion, Padmé reveals herself to be Queen Amidala (though it’s implied - and outright stated in the novel Queen's Shadow - that Qui-Gon knew about this for a while), with the “Amidala” previously shown on screen being a bodyguard and body double since the occupation of Theed, aside from the Senate scene. This gesture of trust - along with a display of humility from Padmé and her companions - convinces Nass to offer the support of the Gungans, cementing the alliance.

With Nass and the Gungans on their side, the heroes execute a three-pronged strategy to free the planet from the Federation. First, the Gungans mass their army outside of Theed - with Jar Jar as one of the leaders - drawing the Federation’s own army into a battle away from the city and allowing Padmé and her human allies to launch an attack on the royal palace, where Gunray has taken up residence following the occupation. Once inside, Naboo fighter pilots commandeer starfighters within the palace hangar and use them to launch an attack upon a droid control ship left in orbit around the planet - the destruction of which will disable all the battle droids on Naboo - while the rest of Padmé’s group attempt to capture Gunray. As they depart the hangar however, they find Maul waiting for them; Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan split off to fight him, allowing Padmé and her other allies to continue the mission. Anakin hides within a starfighter cockpit as per instructions from Qui-Gon, but ends up inadvertently flying it to the battle taking place around the droid control ship.

As the multiple battles continue, the tides gradually turn against the heroes. The Gungans put up a good fight, but are gradually overwhelmed by the Federation’s superior technology, while the Naboo starfighters struggle to do any damage to the droid control ship. Padmé’s group gets captured and taken to the throne room and Gunray, while Maul fatally wounds Qui-Gon after luring the two Jedi into the palace power complex and splitting them up. Just when it seems all hope is lost though, Padme’s group is saved when her body double shows up to distract Gunray, allowing her to retrieve two blaster pistols concealed near her throne and take control of the place. At the same time, Anakin accidently flies his starfighter inside the droid control ship and destroys its main reactor, blowing up the ship and causing all the Federation’s battle droids to get shut down, thereby saving the Gungans. Finally, Obi-Wan bisects Maul with Qui-Gon’s lightsaber and sends him falling into a deep reactor shaft, seemingly killing him. It’s too late for Qui-Gon though, and he exacts a promise to train Anakin from Obi-Wan before passing on.

With the conflict over and Gunray having to answer for his crimes, the newly elected Chancellor Palpatine comes to Naboo to congratulate Padmé on her heroics, and tells Anakin that he’ll be watching the boy’s career with great interest. Obi-Wan - now a full Jedi Knight following the conflict’s end - tells Yoda of his intention to train Anakin; though Yoda is still hesitant, he reluctantly admits that the rest of the Jedi Council have given it the go-ahead. At a funeral for Qui-Gon, Yoda notes that the Sith - of which they’re now willing to admit Maul was a member - always have two members, meaning there’s another powerful Force sensitive like Maul out there. The next day, the heroes (and Palpatine) attend a celebration of both Naboo’s liberation and the establishment of peace with the Gungans.