Saga How come Obi Wan Kenobi and Owen Lars don't remember R2D2 and C3PO?

Especially Owen Lars because C3PO was on his farm in Attack of the Clones, Did they eventually forget who they were as they aged during the years between ROTS and ANH? Or were they pretending not to know them to not reveal too much of the past to Luke?

 

Basically because when Star Wars/ANH was made back in 1977, the PT didn't yet exist, and what was shown 25 years later in it hadn't happen back then.

To answer your question more seriously, regarding Owen and C3PO, I'm pretty sure owen never hears the name C3PO in ANH.

Regarding R2D2, he only hears R2 from far away in AOTC, when 3PO or Padme pronounces the name after Anakin's mother burial, If I remember well.

Obi-Wan could remember them and simply keep it to himself. There's really no need to tell Luke or anyone else plotwise.

 

A droid's just a droid, and are droid names supposed to be exclusive? Even if they were, "C-3PO" is almost like an old phone number. What's the use of remembering an old phone number? Besides, who's to say he didn't remember the droids? We already know why C-3PO doesn't remember, why Owen wouldn't talk about it, and that R2 has his own agenda.

 

Hell, Owen Lars is such a boozehound he can't even remember to lift the toilet seat before he uses it.

Actually, OL treats droids as machinery, and with a great deal of disdain. I doubt he'd remember R2D2 and C3PO.

As for Kenobi, unless he had his memory wiped along with C3PO, there isn't much of an excuse.

 

I personally think Kenobi feigned ignorance in order to avoid any further questions from Luke. Certainly if Luke knew that R2 was Obi-Wan's droid way back when, then R2 would certainly have known his father since Obi and Ani were so close.

As for Owen, think of the droids as selling your car, and seeing it 20 years later. If you treated your car as just a regular car, you probably wouldn't know that it is the exact one that you once owned. That is how Owen treated it. What I really want to know is if R2 recognized the Lars.

 

I would actually ask more questions if Obi-Wan and Owen actually remembered the two droids. To them droids are mere appliances, and as such remembering R2 and C-3PO would be like remembering a toaster you owned twenty years ago (the exact same toaster).

Obi-Wan may have suspected that R2 was the same R2 Anakin owned, however definitely not initally. In fact I believe he glaces at R2 once he sees Princess Leia's message, as if to say "wait a minute that must be the R2 unit Anakin owned". Beyond that there was no reason to pointlessly confuse Luke - I am sure Obi-Wan, if he did remember R2, would have said something to R2 to acknowledge him as that droid Anakin had during the Clone Wars.

 

This is one of those things that has been brought up a thousand times, but isn't a continuity error. Owen doesn't remember 3PO because he is now gold plated in ANH, he never hears his name, and even if he did, there are thousands of droids that look identical to him, and indeed, several in the prequels and original movies alone.

As far as R2, Owen saw him for a split second in Clones, so it is silly to think he'd recognize him 20 years later, when there are nearly identical astromech droids. Would you know a friend's dog or toaster you saw years ago briefly? Most likely not.

3PO doesn't remember anything due to the memory wipe, and R2 clearly does. While the prequels weren't written yet, Obi Wan's reactions work in this context, and make you think he recognizes R2 when he sees them after Luke is attacked by the tuskens, saying "hello there friend," or something similar. Obi Wan plays dumb to avoid questions from Luke, saying he can't remember ever owning a droid, which he never really did, since Jedi dont "own" anything, and since R2 was never his droid. He may suspect and not know for sure at that point, but as someone already pointed out, his knowing glance after seeing Leia's message shows he has put two and two together. Afterall, he knows Bail Organa last possessed the droids, as per the end of ROTS.

 

Not only look alike, but are named alike.

 

Exactly. He's just a basic protocol droid. Years later, he wouldn't remember the difference between C-3PO, D-3PO or XYZ-3PO.

 

Owen's not an issue, for the various reasons mentioned above.
a) They're just droids - with probably less emotional resonance than a vehicle;
b) C-3PO looked very different prior to his original departure from the Lars homestead;
c) he never really encountered R2-D2 in the PT anyway.

Obi-Wan - well, it's not too much of a stretch to say he's just playing his cards very close to his chest anyway. In the 1977 film he wasn't meant to recognise them, but like a good few other moments that work very well retroactively, Alec Guinness' slightly sly, thoughtful performance fits in with the idea that maybe he does recognise them & just isn't saying so, or isn't quite sure, keeping the past from Luke nonetheless.

Of course, there's many who will take the odd little looks that Obi-Wan gives in ANH to mean that, yes, he knew exactly who these droids were, just as they'll take Owen's line, "That's what I'm afraid of" as proof that Vader was always Luke's father, but all it points to is the skill of the actors in giving unspoken depth to their performances, suggesting that they knew what had happened before. Hints of a backstory makes the current story that much more interesting, even if the backstory doesn't really exist beyond what's mentioned.

 

Now that I think about it there is NO possible way Owen knew who the droids were because he did everything in his power to keep the story of his father and past from Luke. So why then would he buy the annoying loud protocol droid that Anakin built? Simple answer: he didn't know. End of discussion (about Owen).

 

^^This. They were made almost 30 years apart using an ambitious approach that no other film franchise had ever attempted. There will be some slight inconsistencies.

As for an in-universe answer, I would argue that both remembered the droids. Owen may not recognize C-3PO specifically, but he was certainly familiar with the model. He takes one glance and shouts "You, I suppose you're programmed for etiquette and protocol...I have no need for a protocol droid." This actually makes me laugh. I think about how 3PO must have really grated on Owen during his years on the farm pre-AOTC while contributing very little of use. As for why he did not recognize C-3PO specifically and go "Hey man! How have you been?," it has been over 20 years. As an above poster mentioned, he never actually hears the name. On top of that, 3PO is an entirely different color! I wonder if Lucas gave 3P0 the rusty silver coating in AOTC for this very reason.

As for Obi-wan, who says he did not recognize R2? Just because he did not start going on in front of Luke about their old war stories of stormin' crazy ol' Greivous's ship together does not mean that he does not know the droid. Watch Alec Guinness's performance. I think it suggests some knowledge of the droid. I wonder if Lucas (1977 Lucas) wanted to imply that Bail had used R2 to communicate with Obi-wan before. He finds the message Leia recorded instantly and without difficulty, though he presumably has less experience with mechanics than Luke. Additionally, R2 seems to know his way around Tatooine. Just a thought.

 

To my knowledge Obi Wan and Owen are very confused in episode 4 because after the special editions they just don't know what the **** is going on anymore.

 

I just tried to find one of a couple very similar threads from before, but gave up.

Owen:
C-3PO was a different color in AOTC (first time with the Lars) then he was in ANH (second time with the Lars). Owen never hears his name in ANH. And as others have said, Owen is not likely to recognize him anyway, as he is just another protocol droid. Owen has very little contact or time spent with R2 in AOTC, and again, he doesn't hear his name in ANH. And like C-3PO, R2 is also just another astromech droid.

Obi-Wan:
He remembered. R2 also remembered him (unlike C-3PO, due to his memory wipe). But both Obi-Wan and R2 know enough to not let Luke in on this information yet. And as stated before, Obi-Wan technically never did own a droid, and R2 was never assigned to him anyway (but instead to Anakin).

 

I think the thing about Obi-Wan is whether he remembered R2 immediately, suspected slightly, or whether it was not until he saw the holographic transmission in his hovel.

I'm going to say he had slight suspicion from the moment Luke said something about R2 was looking for him (not when he first saw him), however this was only confirmed for Obi-Wan when he saw the holographic transmission from Leia.

 

Too true. Too true.

 

Well Im not R2 left Padmes ship? I dont remember R2 being in the Lars home, 3PO had a new finish, Padme plated his unfinished metal with gold. Plus the Lars only had the droids for a day before they were killed. Owen did figure out that SOMEONE was trying to get in contact with Kenobi and he seemed to not want to give up the droids.

Obi Wan does remember the droids when the R2 is playing back Leia messages. Look at his face during that seen when R2 is playing the message. He instantly recognizes Padmes daughter and the droids.

 

R2 was ALWAYS Padmes droid that Anakin borrowed from her. Padme inherited 3po from Lars/Shmi/Anakin...its weird how R2 is the property of the Naboo cruiser that Padme eventually keeps. When Anakin and Obi Wan come to meet Padme after the assassination attempt R2 is still Padmes property. They get 3PO because Shmi died. Shmi owned 3po. After the marriage that is when the droids start to actually live together. Anakin would use R2 for space battles, but he was still Padmes droid. Padme dies, Anakin switches sides, and Bale just takes the droids and gives them to The Tantive ship captain. Leia never owned R2, but it was because of Leia that Luke eventually got him for his X Wing.

 

Too good yeah

And they're not alone...

 

Why does everyone keep misquoting Obi-wan? He said that he doesn't remember being the owner of R2 and 3P0 but that did NOT mean that he didn't remember them. He knew exactly who those droids are which is why he was friendly to R2. As for Owen, he didn't know that the droids he had were the same ones he gave to Anakin in AOTC until Luke mentioned that the droids belonged to Obi-wan. From there, Owen and Beru gave these wierd looks to each other like they knew who those droids are which led Owen to tell Luke to have the droids' memories erased.

 

Correct... and not at conflict with anything I wrote.

Also, I mentioned the earlier threads that discussed the same topic. Here's one of them (now locked but full of discussion). There is another similar thread linked within that, too.

 

Owen probably wouldn't have recognized C-3PO even if he was silver plated. (Just like he would know me from Eve.)

Obi-Wan on the other hand R2 units 'a a dime a dozen'. To quote him from Downfall of a Droid.

But it is likely that he recognized R2 but was keeping his mouth shut as to not make Luke suspicious.

 

Who says that "R2D2" and "C3P0" are unique designations? For all we know, they're just model numbers, and one protocol/astromech droid looks like any other.

 

Well, R2 was there at a devastating time for 12 hours 20 years earlier with a passing guest. And R2 units are common.

3PO,m he was familiar with and he looked different, WAS different reprogrammed and I think Owen pretty much got over Anakin and his stuff. He just had the droid around for about two years with Shmi. He's also not the sharpest knife in the drawer he doesn't care about stuff that doesn't pertain to him.

As for Obi-wan, he definitely remembered R2. He knew how to access files like the back of his hand. 3PO was Padme's and was taken over by Bail. i'm sure Obi-wan remembered him be he was going through terrible trauma at the time himself.