R2-D2

Analysis

The two droids establish the comic relief of the series. However, R2 is decisive and courageous in comparison to C-3PO, who tends to panic and dither in the face of danger. For instance, in A New Hope when they realized that their human companions were in jeopardy in a crushing trash compactor, C-3PO was in a panic while R2-D2 quietly and quickly set to work to stop the machine. There has also been speculation as to whether R2-D2 has some special relationship with the Force. This could be the case with Han Solo and Chewbacca as well. In multiple instances throughout the movie series, R2-D2 is able to calmly roll through a firefight without a scratch. Additionally, in A New Hope he is shown to sense the Jawas approaching when there is a threat to Luke Skywalker, but earlier, when they posed a threat to only to him, R2 was unable to detect anything.

Related Topics:
Comic relief - The Force

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A notable possible plot hole between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope is that, during Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, R2-D2 has rocket boosters that allow him to fly, but from A New Hope onward these boosters are not used, leading some to conclude that they are not present. The magazine, Star Wars Insider Issue 62, explains that R2's manufacturers at Industrial Automation had limited their factory warranty on astromech rockets to about 20 years, which would explain why R2 doesn't have his rockets in the Original Trilogy. He also had another set of rockets in a cut scene in The Phantom Menace, where he falls off a Coruscant landing platform, only to be saved by his rockets.

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Another would be the fact that R2-D2 is not recognized by Obi-Wan Kenobi when R2 leaves the Skywalker ranch to find him. However, one possible explanation is that Obi-Wan did recognize R2, as he refers to him as "my little friend", but does not make this indication in front of Luke, who at the time does not know his true family history. These matters, of course, are left for each viewer's interpretation.

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R2 is present at the weddings of two generations of Skywalkers: Anakin and Padmé in , and Luke and Mara Jade two decades after .

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