Was R2's memory ever wiped?

[Xisiqomelir]

At the end of ROTS we see that 3PO's is, but is R2's ever wiped?

If so:
- Please tell me when

and if not:
-Why doesn't he ever fill 3PO in on what he (3PO) has had wiped?
-Why does he freak out when Yoda grabs the doohickey in TESB?
-How come he doesn't let on about what he knows of Vader?

[Stormbringer]

It's entirely possible that 3P0 wasn't either. All we see is it ordered. Curtis Saxton has an excellent page on that.

[Isolder74]

At the end of ROTS we see that 3PO's is, but is R2's ever wiped?

If so:
- Please tell me when

and if not:
-Why doesn't he ever fill 3PO in on what he (3PO) has had wiped?

Maybebecause he was ordered not to and he is loyal to keeping Leia and Luke safe?

-Why does he freak out when Yoda grabs the doohickey in TESB?

Because he can't be sure and he can't speak basic. Maybe he did know who Yoda was.

-How come he doesn't let on about what he knows of Vader?

It would be a bad idea to tell such things, would it not. R2 has proven he can be trusted. Besides Vader appeared to recognize the droid(and shot it anyway in the Battle of Yavin).

[Xisiqomelir]

It's entirely possible that 3P0 wasn't either. All we see is it ordered. Curtis Saxton has an excellent page on that.

Thanks

[VT-16]

According to Rob Coleman (head ILMer), Lucas told him that R2 recalls the Skywalker Saga 100 years after ROTJ, so he must have remembered it all.

Here´s the passage, from an article:

"Originally, I was trying to have the story be told by somebody else," explains Lucas; "There was somebody watching this whole story and recording it, somebody probably wiser than the mortal players in the actual events."

And who was that? Here's what The Making of Episode III has to say:

"Later in the day, R2-D2 makes his first appearance. Cast and crew react visibly to his arrival, for the little astromech droid provides a physical link to the overall saga, and he reminds many here of their childhood experiences watching Star Wars. George remarks to Rob Coleman that the story of Star Wars is actually recounted by R2-D2 to the Keeper of the Whills, one hundred years after Return of the Jedi."

According to George Lucas, R2-D2 is the only character in Star Wars who knows the entire story. Even C3-PO, who experienced it, has his memory wiped in Episode III.

A century later, the "Keeper of the Whills" writes down Artoo's account of the story, and the entire Star Wars story, from Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace to all the furry Ewoks in Return of the Jedi, is supposed to be taken from the resulting book.

[Darth Fanboy]

It would be a bad idea to tell such things, would it not. R2 has proven he can be trusted. Besides Vader appeared to recognize the droid(and shot it anyway in the Battle of Yavin).

What proof do you have that Vader recognized R2 in ANH to back up this statement?

[Skylon]

It would be a bad idea to tell such things, would it not. R2 has proven he can be trusted. Besides Vader appeared to recognize the droid(and shot it anyway in the Battle of Yavin).

There is no evidence Vader bothered to give the droid on Luke's X-Wing a close look in ANH.

The only case one can speculate he recongized a droid in C-3PO in ESB. When Chewbacca starts going ape-shit and knocking Stormtroopers around, before Han is frozen in carbontie Boba Fett goes to take a shot at him. Vader though stops him. Maybe because of a little soft-spot Vader had for the droid strapped onto Chewie's back.

R2 it seems was very good at keeping a secret. He never told 3PO anything, and he could have told Luke a crap load while plugged into the X-Wing and the two were on long flights. Just imagine one day appears on Luke's little astromech print-out screen:

"So....did you know Darth Vader's your father?"

Guess the gabage can agreed with Kenobi's idea of not telling Luke the truth.

[McNum]

The reason R2 never said anything might be very simple, really. No one ever asked him. Would you expect this little mechanic to actually know one of the bigger secrets in the galaxy? I sure wouldn't. So R2 just follows instructions while a simple "Hey R2, do you know who my father is?" might have revealed it all.

[Civil War Man]

R2, despite being, as Dex might say, merely a droid, is smart. He knows if he goes around telling everyone about everything he knows, questions are going to start being asked.

As for 3P0, he probably wouldn't believe R2 if he told him all that stuff, IMHO.

[18-Till-I-Die]

It seems possible to me...that R2 is basically just a repair mechanism, and he might simply not be 'smart' enough to care. I like R2 and 3PO but i have to point out that, largely, droids are just droids i.e. just machines they perhaps dont really think things through the way you or i would.

Perhaps to R2 it was like, they told me not to talk so i wont, and thats that. Emotional connections, if any exist, freindship and logic aside he just doesnt care nor could he. He has orders, to shut the fuck up and stay shut, and so he does.

I know it seems 'mean' to say that about R2D2 cause he's like a little icon or whatever, but droids have shown a strangely uneven intelligence level in the films. Some who regularly interact with humans, like 3PO, might be fully sentient or close to it but i figure others like battle droids, SBDs, and astromechs are probably closer to a vaguely smart computer system. You can hold a conversation with them, but all you get is pre-programed responses, and more so if you dont ask the right question, you simply dont get an answer.

[SCVN 2812]

Here's the one thing that comes to mind, does R2D2 know that his former master, Anakin Skywalker, is Darth Vader? He may never have learned his former master's fate and even then, he saw what happened to Threepio when he couldn't keep his vocal circuits switched off. R2 is probably smart enough to know that no good can come of revealing everything he knows which is not neccessarily nearly as much as we assume he knows.

The point is, is that R2 was not around when Anakin fell to the dark side. He did not witness first hand the slaughter of the Jedi at the temple nor can we say for sure whether or not he actually witnessed the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin, he was told to stay with the ship.

It may only be when he meets Luke and is with him on his journies that he finally learns the significance of what he knows.

[Macross]

Or perhaps, simply, R2 was ordered not to tell anyone. Perhaps by Bail Organa, and he never had the chance to recind the order before he died.

[Noble Ire]

Perhaps Anakin's tinkering with Artoo plus a complete lack of memory wipes for decades made him something more than any other astromech could be. It is possible that Artoo is fully cognecient of the implications of what he knows, but for whatever reason (trying to forget, spite, a weird sense of humor, an understanding of the full implications of the actions he might perpatrate) he does not do or reveal much more than average droid would. Who knows?

[18-Till-I-Die]

I think we have to look at this realistically...

What would the POINT be in a fully sentient repair droid? Of course, he's close enough to sentient to think quickly and decisively enough to get the job done, 'instincts' if you will. But a machine designed to fix broken starships is not going to need to be fully self-aware. Some of what may appear to be self-awareness could, and more than likely is, merely self-preservation something that would be invaluable to a drid designed to be deployed in combat situations on a starship's hull. There is no reason to beleive that the beeps and sqeaks he makes are any more cogniscent than the whines and beeps of a computer dial-up, yes they hold information but no depth, perhaps, no personality or deeper consideration. *Beep Boop Weep* might just mean initiate program response #x.

C3PO, of course, acts like it means something, because he cares about the little guy. And his 'friends' act like he can think teh same way some people refer to their car as a woman and say "Oh c'mon man, work!" when it breaks down, fully knowing asking it wont fix the malfunction.

I'm rambling so i'll sum it up. What i'm saying is, we're all assuming R2 or ANY droid is actually fully self-aware when there is some evidence that this is not so, or that only droids who are regularly expected to interact with humans are fully aware. In fact, they arent even that self-aware, but close enough.

[PainRack]

I think we have to look at this realistically...


I'm rambling so i'll sum it up. What i'm saying is, we're all assuming R2 or ANY droid is actually fully self-aware when there is some evidence that this is not so, or that only droids who are regularly expected to interact with humans are fully aware. In fact, they arent even that self-aware, but close enough.

Well, for one, IIRC, the AOTC novel and TESB novel both made mention of Artoo having emotions, one at the arena and the other on Dagobah.

[Chris OFarrell]

And one or two of the later EU books make a point on it as well.

I actualy loved one of those NJO Aaron books, Rebel Stand I think it was. R2 breaks Leia and Han out of prison and he VERY much has a personality.

It also backs up his '1337 hacker' reputation.

And I would in fact hope that in a new post NJO novel someone actualy asks R2D2 the right question and he tells them all.


The only bit thats a worry is when Luke takes R2D2 to Obi-One and he dismisses the droid completly...but perhaps not. Obi-Ones exact line was 'I don't recall owning a droid' or something along those lines. He did NOT say 'I've never seen this droid in my life'...And his polite asking of R2 to play the message looks at odd to his attitude towards droids in general...

So who knows.

[Isolder74]

It would be a bad idea to tell such things, would it not. R2 has proven he can be trusted. Besides Vader appeared to recognize the droid(and shot it anyway in the Battle of Yavin).

What proof do you have that Vader recognized R2 in ANH to back up this statement?

Well He must have recognized R2 for in Empire he ensured R2 was seperated from Luke. He didn't choke Piett when The Falcon Flew off after R2 fixes the Hyperdrive. Perhaps Vader did Remember that little resourcefull trash can.

[Spartan]

The only bit thats a worry is when Luke takes R2D2 to Obi-One and he dismisses the droid completly...but perhaps not. Obi-Ones exact line was 'I don't recall owning a droid' or something along those lines. He did NOT say 'I've never seen this droid in my life'...And his polite asking of R2 to play the message looks at odd to his attitude towards droids in general...

There is a smirk on his face as he says that line. Besides anything that Ben says should be taken with severa grains of salt.

[NecronLord]

I think we have to look at this realistically...

<snip sentience=meatbag nonsense>

None of that makes any sense when you factor in the way R2D2 has disobeyed orders and gone and creatively saved characters asses. You're falling prey to Obi-Wan's conceit that droids can't think. Stop it.

[Darth Fanboy]

Well He must have recognized R2 for in Empire he ensured R2 was seperated from Luke. He didn't choke Piett when The Falcon Flew off after R2 fixes the Hyperdrive. Perhaps Vader did Remember that little resourcefull trash can.

This is a load of bullshit. You expect me to believe that Vader throughout the whole Original trilogy was secretly sparing R2 because there was a soft spot in his heart for the little droid. BULLSHIT.

[Vympel]

Hang on, when did Vader even see R2-D2 in Ep IV-VI? I can't remember a single instance. He did save C-3P0, in my opinion- what does he care for a Wookie he's never met?

[Darth Fanboy]

Hang on, when did Vader even see R2-D2 in Ep IV-VI? I can't remember a single instance. He did save C-3P0, in my opinion- what does he care for a Wookie he's never met?

In the targeting bracket of his TIE during ANH.

[Civil War Man]

I think we have to look at this realistically...

<snip sentience=meatbag nonsense>

None of that makes any sense when you factor in the way R2D2 has disobeyed orders and gone and creatively saved characters asses. You're falling prey to Obi-Wan's conceit that droids can't think. Stop it.

Don't forget that R2 shows having feelings in the OT.

In ANH...
R2: beeping
3P0: "No, I don't think he likes you at all."
R2: questioning beep
3P0: "No, I don't like you, either."
R2: sad beep

3P0: "I don't understand what's happening but I'm sure it's your fault."
R2: angry beeping
3P0: "You watch your language!"

In ESB...
Luke: "I don't know, maybe I'm just going crazy."
R2: spits out swamp water, then gives a really angry beep, as if saying "MAYBE?!"

In ROTJ...
3P0: "If I told you half the things I knew about this Jabba the Hutt, you'd probably short circuit."
R2: worried beep

Ewok: chops R2's rope, causing him to crash to the ground
R2: gets helped up, then tries to zap the Ewok

So it's possible to hurt R2's feelings, get him angry to the point of swearing or attacking, and make him worry about a number of things. And I missed a number of exchanges that would have shown further.

All of this points very strongly at R2 having sentience.

[LadyTevar]

I also recall Ben's line as "I don't recall owning a droid...." but the way he looked at R2 in that scene was with a smirk. Knowing what we do now, we can say that Ben did recognize R2, and was somewhat amazed/amused to find him there.

It also explains why R2 was so intent on finding ObiWan. When Leia recorded the hologram, R2 knew exactly whom she was talking about.

[Alyrium Denryle]

This is awesome because I have been speculationg on this for a while, and have always considered that droid the real hero of both trilogies

3PO had his mind wiped because.. well... he is 3PO he cant keep his trap shut for five god damn seconds
"Hmmm SKywalker... oh you are the son of my maker, I have some dreadful news for you. It seems that darth vader is your father and he killed your mother by accident, I am terribly sorry master. Oh and you have a twin sister by the name of Leia"

Artoo on the other hand, is not only saw EVERYTHING, but is also smart enough to keep his trap shut, and seeig as the Tantive 4 was Bail and Leia's ship, it is completely possible that he took an active role in looking out for her