Qui-Gon. The juxtaposition of the way he is (compassionate, caring, unafraid to take risks) vs. the way the Jedi council is (scared, traditionalist, forbidding connection) is important to see. It sets up that the way the Jedi Order functions doesn’t work and should change. Obi-Wan being pulled between the Order and the way Qui-Gon operated is what leads to his middle-ground approach to training Anakin, which leaves him vulnerable to Palpatine.
The Republic. We need to see it the way we see it in TPM. It’s huge, thriving, bright, happy. We need to see it that way to realize how corrupted it becomes, and see the tragedy of its downfall into becoming the Empire.
I personally agree with both, though it would have been nice if both of those core messages were a bit more explicit in the script. Good points though.
I do think TPM deserves its place in the saga, I’m just curious what others think here.