"I don't seem to remember ever owning a droid."

Why does Obi-Wan not recognize or remember R2-D2 when he first sees him in ANH? I know this is probably a newbie question that has been answered before, but I'm just curious. Was he playing dumb for Luke? Or is he just old and senile?

 

The answer I've seen is that he never "owned" R2, but did know who he was. So what he said is true......from a certain point of view.

 

True, but he acted as if he had never seen R2 before. It just doesn't make sense.

 

Watch Obi-Wan's eyes and some of his mannerisms. They'll tell you that he knew who it was.

 

Obi Wan never owned R2, Anakin and Padme had. The fact that R2 was claiming to be property of Obi Wan, I think he knew the force had set something into motion.

 

I don't believe or agree with this for an instant. Lucas did not instruct Alec Guiness to "pretend you don't know who R2 is, but actually you know exactly who he is because I've written this elaborate backstory in which you and R2 cross paths many times, so let your eyes belie the fact that you know him". The truth of the matter is, Lucas had a few pages of broad notes, neither he nor Guiness had any idea that R2 had ever been in Kenobi's company, and as it turns out Kenobi did not "own" R2 (the astromech was given to Anakin by Padme), and all astromech droids tend to look and sound similar, leading to Kenobi's lack of memory that this had once been Anakin's droid.

 

Well, that comes down to the fact there are 2 ways of looking at this. The GFFA version, and the Earth version.

The latter is as you say. When ANH was written, it seemed like a good line at the time. The whole backstory wasn't written.

In the GFFA version, we have to look at the whole Saga. We know that Obi-Wan DID know R2, so then it comes down to "Is he talking about actually owning droids" or "Did he forget who R2 was". I'm in the former camp.

 

wasn't Lucas' instruction just "faster, more intense" anyway? Guiness might just have tried to give Ben a recognition of R2's importance, no matter if it's the toaster that belonged to his pupil or Skippy the Jedi Droid. It translates well as personal recognition now. Just like the lie about Luke's father.

 

But speaking "in-universe", to Kenobi, who in the PT doesn't give much credit to droids, this blue astromech is just another robot. He doesn't have to be pretending or lying or saying things "from a certain point of view". It's been twenty years, and he doesn't recognize this blue-marked droid as being the same blue-marked droid Padme gave Anakin.

 

no, but that one knew his name, after 20 years in exile. If that doesn't mean there is something to that droid (who just happens to be accompanying the son of the Chosen One) then nothing does.

 

R2 knew Kenobi's name because Leia entrusted him with the message specifically to "Obi-Wan Kenobi". Again, there is no reason Kenobi would have recognized R2 as anything special or unique.

 

I disagree. I think Obi-Wan would have definitely recognized R4 after all of those years. And Obi-Wan was very, very, very close with Anakin. I don't think it's out of the question to suggest that he would recognize the droid of his apprentice and someone he considered a brother.

 

I fall into the camp of people who thinks that Obi-Wan recognizes R2. The way he looks at R2 when Luke tells him he's looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi, to me looks like in his mind, a confirmation of who R2 is, and what it means that he's sought him out. And of course he doesn't tell Luke that he knows who and what R2 is, he probably doesn't even know everything he wants to tell Luke about his father, and what happened to him.

 

Despite the lack of fleshed-out back story in 1977, Sir Alec plays it coyly enough that we are given pause at his denial. This moment is accentuated after the events of ROTS.

There's the old "toaster argument", which says that most people wouldn't recognize an old appliance they owned twenty years ago. However, most would probably ascribe a higher personal attachment to a droid, perhaps more like a pet dog. Would you recognize your friend's loyal pet after twenty years?

Given the extraordinary events of ROTS, it's hard to believe that Obi-Wan wouldn't have recognized R2, especially given Luke's use of the name "Obi-Wan".

 

Yep, and lets not forget, R2 was there with 3CPO. Its just too much of a coincidence for Obi-Wan not to remember, unless his mind was completely gone.

While its true Obi-Wan never technically owned a droid, he certainly could have used one on Tatooine. Maybe the Jawas came around to his hovel once, and he chased them away with his lightsaber. The Jawas then spread word to the Sandpeople about that crazy old wizard, and that, not the strange noise, was the real reason they ran away.

 

Given the extraordinary events of ROTS, it's hard to believe that Obi-Wan wouldn't have recognized R2, especially given Luke's use of the name "Obi-Wan".

Precisely. And using that friend's old dog argument, I do think, 30 years from now, I would recognize the dog (assuming it remained unchanged) of my best friend/brother, especially if he and I had an epic and heartbreaking falling out.

 

It's not out of the question necessarily, it just doesn't happen. What cause would Kenobi have to deny recognizing R2? He has no motivation here.

It's flatly preposterous to suggest that Lucas told Guiness that his character secretly knew who R2 was, and to only pretend like he didn't recognize him. There's no motivation for the character to do so, and Lucas had not fleshed out the events and characters enough to know whether Kenobi would have crossed paths with R2 a generation earlier.

I for one am given no such pause at his denial, which strikes me as sincere and valid. ROTS had not been written and would not be for 25+ years. Lucas had a vague backstory that consisted of a few pages of notes; these did not include any mention of R2 or 3PO. One might argue for an "in-universe" recognition of R2 on Kenobi's part, but then the question of Ben's motivavtion in pretending not to know him comes into play.

In the PT, on several occasions Kenobi dismisses the relevance of droids. It seems that Lucas went out of his way to show us that Kenobi in his earlier years had little regard for robots. I do not believe, given the high number of astromech droids in the galaxy, that Kenobi would have recognized his padawan's robot -- which looks pretty much like every other "R2" model -- twenty years later. It strains credulity and, since there is no strong evidence that he did recognize the droid -- in fact, just the opposite is said -- I can only conclude that Kenobi is telling the truth when he says he doesn't remember R2.

That's certainly when it all comes back to him -- that is, if we are to believe the look of wondering recall on his face, and the musical cue which tells us something magical is happening. It is here, and no earlier, that one may postulate an "in-universe" recognition of R2.

 

I can only conclude that Kenobi is telling the truth when he says he doesn't remember R2.


Wait a minute, that NOT the question he was asked.
---------------------------------------------------------------
LUKE: Oh, this little droid! I think he's searching for his former
master...I've never seen such devotion in a droid before...there
seems to be no stopping him. He claims to be the property of an Obi-
Wan Kenobi. Is he a relative of yours? Do you know who he's talking
about?

Ben ponders this for a moment, scratching his scruffy beard.

BEN: Obi-Wan Kenobi...Obi-Wan? Now thats a name I haven't heard in a
long time...a long time.

LUKE: I think my uncle knew him. He said he was dead.

BEN: Oh, he's not dead, or...not yet.

LUKE: You know him!

BEN: Well of course, of course I know him. He's me! I haven't gone by
the name Obi-Wan since oh, before you were born.

LUKE: Well, then the droid does belong to you.

BEN: Don't seem to remember ever owning a droid. Very interesting...

 

Hey, that's right! The memory of his name comes before he says he doesn't remember owning a droid while looking at R2 -- not after, as I implied above. I feel this cements my position that Kenobi truly does not remember R2. What motivation would he have for pretending not to recognize the robot?

 

The motivation is to stop Luke asking lots of awkward questions before Ben is ready to give him the answers.

 

Right, we already know that Obi-Wan is not planning on telling Luke the whole truth about his father, and telling Luke that R2 was his father's droid would bring up many questions that Obi-Wan is not ready to answer, or maybe doesn't even want to answer.

 

I suppose that could work in-universe if you choose to imagine it that way. I think Kenobi failing to recognize the droid as having once been Anakin's makes more sense, but you know, we are all entitled to our own personal STAR WARS "canon".

The real-world explanation, however, is a different story -- since Vader and Anakin were still two distinct entities in Lucas' mind (according to all early drafts of the original film), and since in the brief backstory notes (which later became the prequels) there's no mention of R2 or 3PO.

 

Absolutely. The reality is we have to form our own opinion. I kinda like the idea that he does indeed recognise R2, so I'm happy with that

 

Not recognizing R2 if R2 was there by himself may be believable. But with 3CPO there also, thats just too much not to jar Obi-Wans memory. Along with Luke, Anakins son there too. Seeing Luke, Obi-Wan had no choice but to think Anakin.

 

^ ^ But we also see in the PT that there are many protocol droids in the Galaxy, many of which have a similar voice as 3PO (TC-14. e.g.). At all events, did Kenobi ever see the two robots together? They spend almost all of the three PT films apart. There is no strong reason to conclude that Kenobi must recognize the two droids as once belonging to Anakin and Padme.