Star Wars: Our Favorite Near-Sighted Scrap Pile – R2-D2 Breakdown
The original trilogy’s sassiest droid who you shouldn’t dare mistake for a trashcan, R2-D2 has seen it all and deserves his nap.
Like C-3P0, this tiny, aggressive droid has been part of the Skywalker saga since the very very beginning. There hardly anything that R2-D2 wasn’t a part of, and each scene was made better for his presence.
Courtesy of Lucas Films
When We First Meet R2-D2
When R2 first chronologically entered the story, he was a droid under the employ of Queen Padme Amidala of Naboo. But where he was prior to that point is unknown. As an astromech of relatively young royalty, there’s a decent chance that he was in her service fresh off of the manufacturing floor of Industrial Automaton. Padme and her entourage used many astromechs in their various space traveling adventures, but R2 was the only one to survive open-space ship repairs during the invasion of Naboo.
After this near brush with oblivion, the ship traveled to Tatooine. Here the droid was first introduced to Anakin Skywalker and his eventual lifelong partner, c-3P0.
After their return to Naboo R2-D2 accidentally accompanied Anakin and a N-1 Starfighter through a live battlefield. This would turn out to be a preview of the rest of their lives together.
With the end of Padme’s term and her new position on the Galactic senate, R2 stayed with her. He often acted as a small spy or recorder. Throughout the Clone Wars he accompanied her and saved her from danger when the opportunity arose. But as an astromech, some of his best moments were spent assisting in flying and jumps to hyperspace. And sabotaging other ships’ attempts to do the same. R2 eventually became just as common to see next to Anakin, Ahsoka Tano, or Obi-Wan as with Padme depending on where he was needed.
Courtesy of Lucas Films
R2 & the Organa Family
After the death of Padme and the fall of Anakin to the Darkside, R2-D2, with C-3P0, passed into the service of Bail Organa. While C-3P0 underwent a memory wipe, R2 was able to keep his memories.
He assisted with bits of the early years of the Rebellion, being reunited briefly with Ahsoka and making an appearance on the Yavin 4 base in Rogue One. But R2’s real entry point back into the story was when Princess Leia gave him the newly stolen plans for the Death Star and sent him to Tatooine to find Obi-Wan Kenobi.
He, somehow, found not only Kenobi but also Luke Skywalker. And after R2 was involved with or present for nearly every major galactic event. From flying as Luke’s astromech during the destruction of the Death Star, to accompanying the budding Jedi through his training, to smuggling a Lightsaber into Jabba’s palace to help save Han Solo, R2 was always there.
After the battle of Endor and the fall of the Empire, R2-D2 accompanied Luke as he tried to find traces of the old Jedi Order. He met Grogu when Luke retrieved the force sensitive youngster, and oversaw the construction of Luke’s new Jedi school.
Courtesy of Lucas Films
Low-Power Mode
But when Luke’s school failed and he went into exile, R2 went into a self-imposed low power mode. He simply decided that he had earned a good, long nap. He woke up, years later, to help Rey piece together the map of where Luke had been living.
R2 was instrumental in convincing Luke to train Rey, but had a more back-seat role the rest of the war. He carried message and sat resolute by his friends, but his days of looking for fights seemed behind him.
Courtesy of Lucas Films
R2-D2 only speaks in binary beeps and whistles, but it’s never hard to tell what he means to say. Even if what he means to say is usually “fight me.” And it’s impossible not to love him for it.
What’s your favorite R2 moment? Which droid would you like to have accompany you around the galaxy? What color scheme would you pick for your astromech? Let us know in the comments!
May The Force Be With You, Adventurers!
