Line #37 Fridge/ThePhantomMenace


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15	!!FridgeBrilliance:
16	* A lot of people complained about the submarine having force-field windows. But it's a ''Gungan'' submarine. Gungans are amphibious, so for them those windows are a safety feature.
17	** Plus, the force fields on the submarine don't fail when the submarine has a large bite taken out of it and loses power. They clearly have very robust backup systems.
18	* At first, the Jedi Council is dead set against training Anakin, because he is too old, and there are all those Mommy issues... Then, in the end, the Council agrees, though Yoda still is against it. It seems like they agreed because it was Qui-Gon's last wish and they maybe felt that they owed him or something. But that wasn't the reason. At least, it wasn't the only reason. Anakin is the Chosen One (the Council never really doubted that after testing him) who is supposed to bring balance to the Force. That means eradicate the Sith. First, when Qui-Gon tells them about his encounter with Darth Maul on Tatooine and that he thinks Maul is a Sith, Mace Windu is incredulous. The Sith died out, he thinks. Without Sith, they don't need a Chosen One who is a potential loose cannon. But, when Yoda states the Council's decision in the end, he also explains that Darth Maul was indeed a Sith, they are sure of that now. And that is why the Council changed their minds. And, since there will be a second Sith, they will actually ''need'' The Chosen One. So he must be trained. It had nothing to do with Qui-Gon dying, but with realizing there actually was a ''Phantom Menace'' out there and they could not do without Anakin.
19	** Also, it's not a stretch to realize a kid this powerful is going to be interesting to the Sith, especially after he becomes incredibly prominent from saving Naboo. It'd be one thing if Qui-Gon had rescued Anakin, brought him to the Temple, then they'd shuffled him to the Agri-Corps or a foster family, but now he's earned a fair amount of fame (more than just being the only human to win a Podrace, which most people outside the Outer Rim won't have heard of).
20	* The title ''The Phantom Menace''. It refers not only to the Sith, who are returning unbeknownst to the Jedi, it also refers to Anakin, who is, or will be, a great threat to the Jedi, even if nobody knows it yet. As an additional layer of brilliance, the Trade Federation is also a candidate for being the titular phantom menace - i.e. something that is seen as a menace by pretty much everybody, but isn't actually the real threat.
21	* Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber is AwesomeYetImpractical. However, Jedi don't typically swing the lightsaber as one would use a sword. Against soldiers and droids, they seem to swing with little effort. Yet, against another Jedi or Sith, they fall into practical sword fighting and add a great deal of force. Because a lightsaber cuts so easily, the only other weapon that could pose a legitimate threat and pose a fight is another lightsaber. Back to Darth Maul, it's not so much as a double-bladed lightsaber from this standpoint. It's more of a lightsaber staff. His moves are clearly inspired by bo-staff fighting.
22	* There didn't seem to be much reason behind the battle of Naboo (aside from providing action sequences) at first. Once the movies are seen in order, it is much easier to see the subtleties of the ultimate plot and how Palpatine really was manipulating everything from the very start. The Phantom Menace was really a XanatosGambit by Palpatine. No matter what happens, he wins. If the Trade Federation successfully invades and takes control of Naboo, he has the necessary sympathy vote to become Supreme Chancellor. If the Queen makes it to Coruscant to plead her case before the Senate, the accusations get that much more dramatic, the Trade Federation's allies have to step in more bluntly to spin the damage, and Palpatine gets a larger sympathy vote. If the Queen returns to Naboo and overcomes the droid army, Palpatine gets sympathy ''and'' badass vote. If the Queen returns to Naboo and gets captured by the Trade Federation, he still gets his sympathy vote. Nothing at all the heroes could have done could have changed the outcome to anything but a favorable one for Palpatine. The only thing that could even theoretically have hurt Palpatine is the Jedi capturing Maul and [[HauledBeforeASenateSubcommittee have him testify in a senate hearing]] as to who his master/employer is.
23	** To put it another way, Palpatine was the literal phantom menace, operating behind the scenes, with the Trade Federation being the obvious danger.
24	* The Gungans celebrating their victory after the droids holding them at gunpoint suddenly go dead might seem a little silly, considering that technically, they'd just ''lost'' their battle against those droids. However, winning the ''battle'' was never their objective in the first place: as they discussed with Queen Amidala, their purpose in marching out on that field was to draw the vast majority of the droid army out of the city and keep it busy while her military and palace guard went after the droid control ship and the viceroy in command of the invasion respectively. By holding the droids back as long as they did and then retreating as necessary, they achieved their real objective, which was to win the ''war''. Their celebration and subsequent acclaim at the parade held in their honor is well-earned, since Amidala and her people couldn't have retaken the planet without the Gungans holding the line.
25	** If nothing else, they're probably celebrating also because now the droids won't kill them.
26	* Panaka staying with the ship on Tatooine. At first glance, this seems like an odd move given that Panaka is a level-headed military-type. And yet, that's exactly why it would be better if he stays behind. Tatooine is a haven for criminals and shady figures -- people who don't want to be found. Having Panaka along would make it much more difficult to interact with the populace because his demeanor screams law enforcement, and, given that Qui-Gon's a Jedi Master, any battle skills Panaka would bring to the table wouldn't add all that much more. Instead, an innocuous fool like Jar Jar is much more handy to bring along and this also prevents him from messing with the already damaged ship or accidentally sending a transmission (and thus alerting the Trade Federation of their location.) Meanwhile, Qui-Gon has no doubt been on dozens of undercover assignments, so he knows how to blend in.
27	* Jake Lloyd's Anakin seems too sweet and too nice with no flaws to be a believable character, much less the [[StartOfDarkness origin of Vader]]. However, there is a lot to this kid. His building a droid is significant. Why? Because he stole the parts. And, bear in mind, Watto's not that bad a slave owner. He treats them respectfully, lets Anakin go home early, and lets Shmi stay at home and not work in the shop. So that Anakin would still want to steal from the guy who, for all intents and purposes, is the only father-figure he has, is telling of his lack of respect for authority, which will became vitally important in leading to his hush-hush relationship/marriage, which will become incredibly important as it drives a wedge between him and all his friends except Palpatine.
28	** On closer observation, he's also shown to be reckless (utilizing a ramp to get ahead in the race, getting involved in the space battle), aggressively confrontational (with Sebulba), manipulative (watch how he convinces his mother to let him pod race by discussing her own lessons about helping people), defiant (to the supremely powerful Jedi Council, no less!), and arrogant (he has no problem talking up his piloting and engineering skills). These qualities seem innocuous in a child, but they wind up being major character flaws for him as an adult.
29	** YMMV on how the viewer feels about Watto, too. At the end of the day, he's still a slave owner actively exploiting a nine year old child as free labor. His slaves are fitted with chips that will explode if they ever try to escape. Shmi finds Anakin's involvement in the pod races terrifying and dangerous, but she has no power to object to Watto using him as a contestant for gambling purposes. The entire reason why Anakin's freed stems from Watto's willingness to literally gamble their lives away. Later in ''Attack of the Clones'', he refers to selling Shmi as "business." Suggesting that slave owner was Anakin's first paternal model holds more disturbing implications than not and may actually lend some insight into the dynamic between Palpatine and Vader.
30	* If you take the time to consider him, Jar Jar may be one of the most selfless and kind-hearted characters in the entire Canon. He's saved by Qui-Gon, and although he could have merely thanked him and left, Jar Jar informed him that he was honor-bound (despite being banished from his own society and no longer influenced by societal influences) to give Qui-gon a life-debt of service. He then leads Qui-gon and Obi-wan to the Gungan city, despite knowing he'll face capital punishment for returning, and even THANKS Qui-gon for saving his life before Boss Nass enacts capital punishment with glee instead of begging Qui-gon to take him with him away from his fate (and it's because of him helping Qui-gon that he had returned to the Gungan city in the first place). He's then seen going with Qui-gon into Mos Espa, despite not being asked to aid Qui-gon and is often seen trying to help Anakin with his podracer. And when he's both on the ship with Padmé and sharing a private moment with the Queen, Jar Jar connects on an emotional level concerning the personal toll of their journey and the affects of the war on ALL of the species on Naboo, and not just speaking from a removed ethical point-of-view or political angle as so many of the other characters are when talking with the Queen. It's important to also note that Jar Jar, true to his word, finally leaves Qui-gon after he dies at the hand of Darth Maul. He may be a bit too buffoonish in a number of scenes (like the battle towards the end), but it's clear to see that he was someone who constantly tried helping where he could, even if he messed up in the process. Not to mention, despite being shocked he's been promoted to general, he's more than willing to go into combat with his fellow Gungans.
31	* The parade music at the end of the film is a jumpy enthusiastic tune in a major chord sung by what sounds like a children's choir. Put it in a minor chord, slow it way down, and replace the kids with a choir of depressed old men, and you get the Emperor's theme in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Consider that Palpatine (featured in the Parade sequence) and the Emperor are one and the same, and you begin to wonder how old and in what emotional state the kids in Phantom Menace would be at the time of the Battle of Endor...
32	* "The Queen demands you take her handmaiden with you". Why would Padmé risk leaving the safety of the ship to see what Tatooine is like? Because the Jedi ''Master'' is going, and he's the best protection for her, especially if the Trade Federation were to trace the ship's location. Better to get the real Queen as far away as possible.
33	* Why would a planet elect a 14 year old Queen? The position is considered sacred, above politics and pure. Best suited for an innocent child.
34	* There are a lot of criticisms towards Jar Jar's character design as a whole, among them being the way the Gungans speak. But one must keep in mind that the Gungans were the native populace of Naboo, and the Galactic Basic would be a new language to them. Their way of speaking is because the Basic was combined with their original Gungan language.
35	* Why does Anakin have an American accent when his mother has a Swedish one and the other person he's always around, Watto, has some kind of Italian/Middle Eastern accent? It's because he listened to the pilots who came into Watto's shop and admired and wanted to be like them. Most of the human ones likely were Corellian (like Han) and have American accents.
36	* The way Qui-Gon and Darth Maul act during their duel while being separated by an energy gate is a summation of the Jedi and Sith philosophies. Qui-Gon closes his eyes, meditates and focuses on summoning the best of his training to improve his skills. Darth Maul paces around, gathering anger and gaining a tunnel vision on his enemy he constantly glares at, focusing on his weak points.
37	* A phantom is like a ghost, a specter that is physically not there... yet it stands before us in spite of that. A hologram is a virtual projector that makes a person appear before an audience as if he's really there despite the fact you cannot touch him for he lacks substances. Save for one scene, and all the scenes that featuring his secret identity, [[Characters/StarWarsEmperorPalpatine which character only appears as a hologram for the majority of the film?]]
38	* A mix of Fridge Brilliance and Fridge Humor. When the decoy queen commands Padmé (the true queen, mind you) to go clean [=R2D2=], she has this goofy little grin on her face. Why? Because this is a chance to prank her boss, as it were. Padmé has her handmaidens do all sorts of crap and now the decoy is able to get a little revenge. "Oh, go clean the filthy droid, Padmé. He deserves our thanks, after all!" The decoy knows Padmé can't complain so takes the opportunity to get in a little fun. You can actually see the other handmaidens smirking in the background.
39	** Presumably, the reason Padmé was asked to clean Artoo was so she would have a natural-seeming reason to move next to him so she could clearly be seen by the decoy queen and guide the conversation. Up until then, nothing truly important had been discussed. But getting one over her boss at the same time is also a legitimate possibility.
40	* One of the biggest complaints about ''The Phantom Menace'' is that it is so goofy and kid-friendly; one of the biggest complaints about the Prequels is they don't feel like the Original Trilogy. But that is the point. The original trilogy was a Space Opera and followed that flow. The Prequels are a Greek Tragedy, with ''Theatre/OedipusRex'' being the main influence. Thus it doesn't follow the same ups and downs of the original because it is working from a different playbook. This also explains why ''The Phantom Menace'' is so silly: Greek Tragedies usually [[CerebusSyndrome start with light-hearted comedy and goofy characters before evolving into dark and tragic stories]]. ''The Phantom Menace'' is merely the goofy 20 minute opening act of a Greek Tragedy.
41	* If people come to this movie knowing nothing about it, they're treated to a small clue as to Padmé's true identity when she says to Qui-Gon, "You assume too much." It's a MeaningfulEcho of what Nute Gunray says to Queen Amidala earlier in the film.
42	* In the Expanded Universe, the Empire was notoriously human centric and xenophobic -- which makes perfect sense when you realise that the Empire's founder, Palpatine, grew up on a planet with two different sentient species that were constantly in conflict and distrusted each other.
43	* All the ridiculous outfits that Queen Amidala wears make more sense when you realise that they're to throw everyone in and out of universe off from the slight differences in appearance between Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley.
44	** This also explains the flat acting we often get from Natalie and Keira -- individuals, no matter how similar, have their own little quirks that a skilled observer can pick up on. Padmé and her decoys are trying to suppress those quirks in order to sell the deception even more.
45	* The revelation that Anakin built Threepio was greeted with some derision as showing the Prequel Trilogy's over-reliance on AlreadyMetEveryone, but if you think about it, it's actually filling a PlotHole. See, while ''The Empire Strikes Back'' is an excellent movie, if you think about it and the rest of the Original Trilogy, there is ''absolutely '''no''' good reason'' why the Empire would have given the dismantled Threepio back to the heroes in their cell when they were prisoners in Cloud City. Threepio is a Rebel droid, after all, and the Empire could get valuable intelligence from him, such as the Rebels' codes that they use in communication. Yet Vader, the ranking Imperial present on Bespin at the time, and one who punishes failure and treason harshly, allows Threepio to be returned to the other main characters. However, Vader is shown to not be irredeemable in the end. Ultimately, the reveal that he built Threepio provides an explanation as to ''why'' Vader had the droid returned to the custody of his friends -- he was feeling ever so slightly in the mood to PetTheDog. In fact, there's a story from ''ComicBook/StarWarsTales'', which was a series devoted to telling WhatIf stories, called "ThankTheMaker" that posits this very idea.
46	* The Trade Federation battleships seem to be of a remarkably poor design, with the entire thing going up like a fireworks factory due to a couple of torpedoes hitting something in the hangar bay. Three things to keep in mind:
47	** The battleship is, according to the expanded universe, based on a freighter design, making it more akin to an armed merchant ship, rather than a designed-from-the-keel-up warship.
48	** Hangars may contain all manner of volatile things (such as fuel or ammunition) which could set off a disastrous chain reaction (something not unknown in RealLife aircraft carriers).
49	** It was very unlikely for any pilot to actually get ''into'' the hangar bay of a hostile ship. Over a timeline covering around 60-70 years, we only see such a feat accomplished four times on film, two of them involving Anakin (who would become a renowned pilot), one involving his grandson (who is himself the son of ''another'' renowned pilot), and the fourth an honorary mention by Poe Dameron (not a hangar bay, but the interior of an enemy base that someone else blew a hole in for him to get through).
50	* People complain about the Jedi's non-attachment policy, and it's often argued that he could never have learned it as a slave--and in fairness, it would've been incredibly difficult. But who was the first person to teach him non-attachment? Not Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, or Yoda, but ''Shmi,'' who believes that she'll never see him again, but unhesitatingly gives him up to the Jedi.
51	* Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan ending up a short distance from each other on Naboo is not that far-fetched. Each Trade Federation ship was carrying an entire army, and armies function best as a single unit. It makes sense that the dropships the Jedi hid on would be deployed to the same area. Especially if they stowed away on ships that were positioned close to one another.
52	* In the final battle, a tank is positioned to shoot down the Naboo starfighter pilots as they leave, whereas this tank was not present earlier when the Queen's starship left. It would seem that when the cruiser escaped, they learned from their previous mistake and posted a guard to prevent this from happening again. As for why they didn't destroy the ships in the hangar preemptively? They are likely worth a fortune if the opportunity comes to pawn them off later.
53	* There's a lot of complaints about the {{Flynning}} in the final duel. But it's mostly done by Obi-Wan and Darth Maul. Maul's every move is a calculated element of ConfusionFu. Obi-Wan is simply inexperienced, having never faced a serious adversary in lightsaber combat. As for Qui-Gon, his strikes are mostly direct and focused, what little swirling of his saber he does is to either gather force for a swing or block or try to disarm Maul. He was trained by Dooku, after all.
54	** Obi-Wan around this time is a practitioner of Ataru, as is his master Qui-Gon. The 4th form of lightsaber combat is a confrontational and acrobatic fighting style that emphasizes a continuous flow of momentum. Obi-Wan at this time has a lot of youthful energy that he channels into his flynning to help him build up energy for his swift and aggressive barrage of strikes against Maul.
55	* While ''The Phantom Menace'' is Palpatine, others involved in the film are just as truly guilty for setting the stage for the downfall of the Republic, making them just as much of a "Phantom Menace" as The Emperor. The only thing is that they don't know it.
56	** Qui-Gon takes Anakin into the Jedi Order and dies at the hands of Darth Maul before he could train the boy, leaving him under the guidance of a strict, unforgiving order that tries to suppress the troubled boy's emotions rather than help comfort him in his time of crisis. It also results in his old Master, Count Dooku, leaving the Jedi Order altogether and joining Sidious, giving the Separatists a leader who could build them up to challenge Republic dominance.
57	** Obi-Wan assumes the role of Master to Anakin. While he wasn't terrible at it, he wasn't the right choice; Anakin needed a father and not a teacher, and Obi-Wan's attempts to teach him as he was taught only exasperated Anakin's problems more. His failure to kill Darth Maul also results in a ''very'' angry and vengeful man who would lay waste to galaxies and kill the ones Kenobi loves to make him suffer, which in turn leads to Satine's death, and causes Mandalore to fall under his control. Because this results in Anakin's former apprentice and MoralityChain, Ahsoka Tano, having to keep away from her old master's side at his moment of need in order to liberate the planet, Anakin is ripe for the Dark Side's taking.
58	** Nute Gunray goes along with Palpatine's plan to invade Naboo and cause chaos in the Senate that would ensure his invasion is protected by bureaucratic red tape.
59	** Jar-Jar winds up getting involved in the main plot and befriending the heroes. A decade later, he's become a prominent enough politician to where Palpatine is able to dupe the Gungan into declaring emergency powers for the office of the Supreme Chancellor, giving Palpatine enough authority to establish an Empire later.
60	** Padme befriends Anakin, and winds up falling in love with him a decade later. She does care for him, but she's lived just a sheltered life as he has, and the two aren't meant to be together considering their emotional instability.
61	** Watto refuses to let Qui-Gon pay for the ship's parts in Republic credits (presumably so he doesn't get a visit from the space equivalent of the [[IntimidatingRevenueService IRS]]). Additionally, though he treats Anakin fairly well, he still is the master to a slave, leaving Anakin with a bitter disposition about slavery. His refusal to let Qui-Gon buy Shmi off of him also leaves her on Tatooine long enough to where she's kidnapped and killed by the Tuskens.
62	** Shmi is one of the kindest mothers in fiction--alas, her kindness leaves Anakin so emotionally dependent on her that any separation causes him to have all sorts of emotional turmoil.
63	** Lott Dodd grinds up the Senate in bureaucratic procedures to ensure the Trade Federation Invasion of Naboo is locked in committee. It gets Padmé to declare a vote of no confidence against Chancellor Valorum, leaving the position ripe for Palpatine's taking.
64	** Darth Maul himself is sent to kill the Jedi and ensure the invasion's success. He winds up as HalfTheManHeUsedToBe instead, and his vengeance will bring turmoil to a galaxy at war, which many more suffer because of it.
65	** And finally, the Jedi Council. Not only do they dismiss Anakin out of hand, but they barely tolerate him in their order because of their dogmatic view he's too young and emotionally unstable, trying for too long to stomp him out instead of properly guiding him. So in the end, Palpatine may have been the "true" Phantom Menace, but everyone else was just as complicit.
66	* Shmi is often hailed as being one of the best mothers in all of Star Wars. She's kind, loving, and patient with her son, all the way to an almost saint-like and unbelievable degree, especially considering Anakin's brattiness, smarmy behavior, and disregard for authority. ''But that's the point!'' No one, absolutely ''no one'' in Anakin's life was going to be able to match the Madonna figure in his early life. Even had Qui-Gon lived and trained him, he couldn't have given Anakin the complete unconditional love and attention he was used to, because Jedi give of themselves to everyone, not just a single person like Shmi did. Obi-Wan does his best, but having lived in the Jedi's communal living and echo chamber for so long, he doesn't understand that Anakin keeps wanting far more than he is able to give. Because Obi-Wan ''always'' puts Anakin first and it's still not enough because he's used to having even MORE given to him. Also, Obi-Wan plays the strict disciplinarian sometimes, as any parent has to; since they were both slaves belonging to someone else, Shmi had less disciplinary power and authority (and was almost certainly just less strict overall) than Obi-Wan was.
67	** This also puts his relationships with Padmé and Palpatine in a different light. Padmé is the only other person to love Anakin unconditionally like his mother did. While it's fine when it's just a harmless crush they're engaging in, once Shmi dies, Anakin becomes obsessed with making sure the only other person who gives him the love he's used to won't die. By Revenge of the Sith, it's not so much love as possession, and anytime Padmé shows signs of having her own ideas or wanting to break away from Anakin to do her own thing, he throws a temper tantrum, grows angry, or turns jealous he's not the sole focus of her attention anymore. One of the most successful ways Palpatine manipulates Anakin is by putting on the "kindly old man" act and giving Anakin everything he is used to receiving from Shmi: the full and sole attention of someone, their (seeming) unconditional love, and someone who is used to always saying "yes" to him. By having someone always pretending to give him what he wants, Anakin is easily molded into a position where he HAS to do what Palpatine wants or he risks losing the only person who has shown him love the way he was used to.
68	** Additionally, one of the difficulties of any single parent is that they have to be both strict disciplinarian and gentle parent, with many couples taking on the role of "good cop" and "bad cop" and sometimes switching off as needed. Obi-Wan tries his best to be, essentially, a single parent, and overall does a good job, but no doubt often has to be fairly strict with Anakin (let's face it, how many people could put up with teenage Anakin Skywalker and stay sane?) But Palpatine can paint himself as the sweet, "loving" parental figure who never punishes Anakin, and mean old Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Mace as nasty, harsh disciplinarians who don't care about Anakin the way he does.
69	** Both brilliance and horror when you consider that prior to this movie, the closest thing Anakin had to a father figure was ''Watto''. Which adds on even more to how Anakin might have subconsciously seen Obi-Wan as the harsh Watto-like figure, with Palpatine as the "loving, gentle" Shmi-like figure.
70	* With some reflection, the plot of this movie shows Palpatine as a shrewd manipulator capable of taking over a Republic and turning it into an Empire without ever losing his [[VillainWithGoodPublicity popular public image]]. A lot of fans complained that the film opens with ''a trade negotiation gone wrong''? But Palpatine had to thread the needle on that. The Nemoidians were ignorant of his real plans and wanted better trade status; they were too cowardly and cheap to be the spark that launched a civil war. He also had to keep the threat high enough to get the Senate to act, but ''low'' enough that Vallorum could be manipulated into launching an investigation instead of a military action, thus allowing an outraged Padmé to be the one to call for his ouster (though Palpatine could have done that himself, manipulating Padmé into doing it kept his hands clean of cries of dirty politics). Also, any really serious threat would bring in Jedi, possibly lots of them. The movie explicitly states that Valorum ''secretly'' called in Jedi to resolve the dispute, where Palpatine would no doubt have preferred to not get them involved at all. Finally, the outcome of the battle on Naboo didn't really hurt him. He wanted it to win with the Trade Federation holding the planet and allowing him to launch the civil war then and there, or at least make it a much bigger problem that would suck in Republic energy, resources, and personnel. However, he got to meet Anakin and was happy to have his plans delayed, since it would net him a new apprentice (though he couldn't have known that at the time). The only real loss was Maul and the Jedi learning of the Sith presence. However, Palpatine has a habit of turning on apprentices that get too powerful and was probably already grooming a replacement.
71	* Maul is on the back foot during the final fight, constantly retreating from the combined skill of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. It's only one on one that he finally beats Qui-Gon. He may be a relatively new apprentice, but Palpatine may have already started grooming Dooku to replace him and become the head of the new Separatist Alliance and sent Maul in as a XanatosGambit: he loses a hot-headed apprentice who won't be as useful to him in the subtleties of his upcoming manipulations of the Republic and Alliance or he kills the Jedi who know about the Sith returning. This is all but confirmed in ''Legends'', particularly the Dooku bit.
72	* How Anakin fixed his podracer mid-race. It's noted that his racer uses 620C Racing Engines with a custom-built fuel-sprayer and feeding system to the fuel chamber. Given the design of these engines, it would be safe to say that his custom engines are motor-driven turbofans with an afterburner attached. The fans being motor-driven are the key - Sebulba damaged the housing of the left engine's capacitor, which caused it to fall off mid-race. Now, the motors driving the fans are single-phase - in a single-phase motor, a capacitor is needed to generate the rotating magnetic field that makes said motor spin - otherwise, the motor will not "know" which way to spin and thus vibrate in place. This causes the left engine to overheat, forcing Anakin to shut it down. While in the middle of that, he then rewired the engines to run in series instead of parallel, sharing the right motor's capacitor (Evidence is on the engine status screen where you see the right engine connecting to the left), before reigniting the right.
73	* Anakin is able to convince Shmi to let him race seemingly by quoting her lessons to her. Except in RealLife, under most circumstances, a responsible parent would respond that a literal child has no business putting himself in danger, even if it helps others. Then you remember that Anakin and Shmi don’t live in ordinary circumstances given that they’re both slaves. Meaning Anakin can be arbitrarily killed, sold or gambled away from Shmi, or trafficked for sex (especially if his Force sensitivity manifests itself to others). The dangers of pod racing, at least, are nothing new to Anakin, and he’s survived them before. Thus, Shmi is allowing him to participate so he can prove valuable to Qui-Gon, in the hope that Qui-Gon will get him out of slavery.
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75	!!FridgeHorror:
76	* It's often seen as heavy-handed Christian symbolism that [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Shmi Skywalker claims that Anakin has no father]] and she doesn't know how she got pregnant. However, people have pointed out that there's a regular way for a woman to "suddenly" get pregnant and not know how it happened, or even who did it--namely, through DateRape or [[SlippingAMickey drugs.]] Especially since Shmi [[QuestionableConsent was a slave for most of her life.]]
77	** This also puts Anakin's CrazyJealousGuy tendencies for any human male who so much as ''blinks'' at Padmé in a very depressing light--male slaves wouldn't have that much power to protect their female relatives from assault, and with their secret marriage and all his unaddressed trauma, [[InternalizedCategorism he may automatically be thinking the worst about other men.]]
78	* Queen Amidala has a decoy so any attempts at assassination would fail. Sounds bad, but it's just something that comes with such a high political position. Then you remember that she was supposed to be fourteen in the movie, so they would have to hire a similarly aged young girl to take any and all bullets intended for the Queen.
79	** Presumably, a little InUniverse DawsonCasting would help with that, but note also the blasters concealed in the arm of the Queen's throne, and how she and her handmaidens (and everyone else working for her) are evidently expert shots with them. How common ''is'' political assassination on Naboo, that its government would have (and regularly need) such efficient and well-practiced counter-measures?
80	** We're also not told a lot about the exact nature of Naboo's dispute with the Trade Federation that led to this blockade and invasion in the first place, but one does have to wonder what kind of dispute could justify starting such a massive conflict. For all of its silly-sounding name and sleepy suburban appearance, Naboo clearly has more to it than meets the eye, and one suspects a militaristic regime lurks just beneath the surface of its pleasant-looking society.
81	** Which actually leads to a bit of FridgeBrilliance, as Anakin's idealization of Naboo helps foster in his mind the idea that a ruthless, pragmatic, and militaristic government can give its citizens a good and happy life and no one will mind at all.
82	** Padmé in particular is clearly more hard-bitten and politically experienced at fourteen than anyone gives her credit for being. Also, though her monarchy isn't hereditary, where are her ''parents''? One would think even if they have no real political power from being related to the queen, they still ought to be there with her in her palace, but no, this fourteen-year-old is ruling ''alone''. I don't see any parents and family for her handmaidens there either. Maybe Naboo is a TeenageWasteland as well?
83	** The ExpandedUniverse explains it all (though some of it is now in the Legends continuity):
84	*** The hidden blasters are a relic of the relatively recent war with the Gungan. The Gungan were ''vicious'' fighters and at one point killed off ''the entire Royal House'' minus the monarch, so it just made sense making sure the ruler could arm themselves as needed.
85	*** The war above is also why the Naboo elect their kings: while they had started electing them to begin with, at some point they ended up with a dynasty until the Gungan killed every single possible successor, prompting the Naboo to elect her successor-and then keep electing them.
86	*** The handmaidens, on the other hand, are a recent development, introduced by captain Panaka after Padmé's predecessor Ars Veruna was found dead with no apparent cause. Faced with such a potential threat to the queen, Panaka managed to get Padmé to have handmaidens that looked enough like her to serve as {{Body Double}}s and train her and the handmaidens in fighting.
87	*** The Royal Naboo Security Forces are for the most part a police force, but Padmé's predecessor Ars Veruna was a militarist who, before having to resign due to (not completely unjustified) allegations of corruption that prompted the Naboo to introduce the two-terms limit, plus having pissed off ''Darth Plagueis'' (enough for the Sith to personally track him down and make him drop dead), had the Security Forces re-equipped with the N-1 starfighter (a rather formidable weapon system for a pacific world). For their ground component, the Naboo were ''still'' rather wary of the Gungan, and while they weren't sure they still had an army anymore they kept them well armed and trained just in case ([[ProperlyParanoid and as it turned out, the Gungan did have an army]]).
88	*** The Trade Federation's beef with Naboo was orchestrated entirely by Palpatine manipulating Veruna in going against the Trade Federation in everything (with the N-1 intended to give Naboo an edge in case of military confrontation), plus trying to kill Plagueis with a ''nuke''. While Veruna was now out of the way, the new queen continued his policies against the Trade Federation, allowing Palpatine to manipulate them in blockading the planet blockade.
89	*** The Naboo have a tendency to elect their rulers young, thus Padmé received political training from an early age and was already Princess (mayor) of Theed before being elected to Queen.
90	** According to the new, revamped canon, Sabé indeed was the same age as Padmé when she served under her. This does bring forth initial Fridge Horror that Naboo trained a ''child'' that wasn't even of legal age to possibly be assassinated in the queen's stead.
91	* Realizing that ''every last character'' signed their proverbial death certificate in the ending. Anakin gets trained by a grieving, inexperienced Knight barely out of a Padawan braid, who is completely unable to handle the task of an unruly unconventional trainee who ''hasn't'' been confined to an enclave all his life. Obi-Wan, said grieving and inexperienced Knight, will be killed by Anakin later. Padmé; and Anakin have a PrecociousCrush that will end in a tragic mess of a marriage and their mutual destruction. Palpatine has been elected Chancellor, starting his rise to power that will eventually destroy almost every other character present, directly or indirectly. Worse, it all looked like a victory at the time.
92	** Even Palpatine sealed his fate there, given that it was Darth Vader who eventually killed him. So, there's that.
93	* C-3PO being built by Anakin means that Luke and Leia kept what was effectively their half-brother as a slave.
94	* Qui-Gon's funeral. They're watching a man they cared about burn. Anakin is even standing on something, to get a better view, as his first proper father figure is slowly being roasted and turned to charcoal.
95	** Anakin's a former slave from [[CrapsackWorld Tatooine]], who has participated in and seen the aftermath of podraces. This may not even be the first time he's seen stuff like this.
96	* Why the only thing we see of Naboo's "core" are water-filled, planet-spanning caverns: it's not the core at all, just the deepest the Gungan have ever gotten, and they believe that's the core when it's still in the crust.
97	* Yoda's warning to Anakin: "''Fear'' is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to ''anger''. Anger leads to ''hate''. Hate leads to ''suffering''." He unwittingly laid out Anakin's fate in the Prequel Trilogy; Anakin was afraid for his mother (with Ki-Adi-Mundi even spelling it out in the scene: "Your thoughts dwell on your mother."), and her getting killed was the worst thing to ever happen to him up until that point, leading him to massacre the entire Tusken tribe in his anger and hatred. Then, when he and Padmé fell in love, he ended up fearing for her life, especially after having the nightmares in which she died. Because of his fear for Padmé, Anakin was ultimately willing to do ''anything'' to save her, including joining the Sith and betraying the Jedi. Only, once again, his fear blinded him, leading him to attack Padmé in a fit of anger, his brotherly love for his master Obi-Wan turning to hate, and Anakin ending up trapped in a lifetime of misery and suffering... because of his fear.
98	* If there is one central arc to the entire movie, it's that there is AlwaysABiggerFish. The Republic dispatches a pair of Jedi knights to act as mediators in a trade dispute at Naboo, which turns out to be a full-fledged invasion of the planet, then a galaxy-spanning political plot. The Battle Droids are easily dispatched by Jedi, Naboo Royal Guards, and Gungan warriors, but the Droidekkas prove capable of fighting the Jedi to a standstill and overwhelming almost everyone else, only to prove no match for a Naboo starfighter which knocks them out with dismissive ease. The fighters themselves naturally find themselves nearly incapable of taking down the Federation Battleship. And of course, there is the Phantom Menace issue, with the Trade Federation, Darth Maul, and of course Darth Sidious proving to be successively more dangerous and unexpected enemies.
99	* There is also the age of Force Sensitives brought to be taught in Jedi Temple - if 9 years is too old, then what is the correct age? Five? Four? It seems like Jedi purposefully pick out children this young, who did not develop critical thinking yet in order to indoctrinate them.
100	** Legends explains this: the Jedi had wiped out the Sith multiple times only for them to resurrect from Jedi that grew so interested in the Dark Side they eventually fell to it and revived the old Sith customs, and after the millennium-long war with the latest (known) group of Sith nearly collapsed the Republic (and left it weakened enough its authority on the Outer Rim is often nominal even by the time of the prequels) [[GodzillaThreshold the Jedi decided they had to do everything in their power to prevent it from happening again]] and started taking Force sensitives very young to raise them in such a way they wouldn't repeat history, with very few exceptions made on a case-by-case basis when they stumbled on a skilled Force sensitive (one of said exceptions being Mace Windu). And they actually succeeded, as the Sith didn't return from a group of fallen Jedi, and the only reason there even are Sith nowadays is that they missed one the last time and he was smart enough to structure his Order for subterfuge rather than [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder the usual Sith ways]].
101	* Besides the above entries about how Anakin is already ruled by fear, there's another reason why he wouldn't make a particularly good Jedi. Already at nine years old, he's ''ruthless'', as seen in the podracing scene. Generally, he's not so nearly bothered by carnage as a young child should be. Some of it is probably due to his upbringing as a slave, but not all of it.

Context Fridge / ThePhantomMenace