"He claims to be the proberty of an Obi-Wan Kenobi"

I don't know if this is a mistake or what...In Episode 4...Luke tells Ben that R2-D2 claims to be the property of an Obi-wan Kenobi. How is this possible? Is Episode 3 C3PO and R2D2 memories are erased...I can understand how he needs to find Obiwan to delivery the message from Princess Leia but how could he claim to be the property of Obi-wan?

 

Leia changed R2's owner to Obi-Wan, to ensure that he would complete his mission, I guess.

And his memory was not erased, only 3PO's.

 

R2's very clever. He was saying anything he could so that he could complete his mission; such as claiming to be Obi-Wan Kenobi's property and having Luke remove the restraining bolt so he could play the rest of the message when he was really just going to escape. And yes, only 3PO's memory was erased. I love this about R2. He's one of the only characters in the Original Trilogy to know basically everything that's happened, and the only one who survives it.

 

Ben also said "I can't seem to remember ever owning a droid, very interesting."

Did he not own R4 in the PT?

 

Absolutely. Artoo is my favorite non-human character of the saga, and he has some of the best (implied) lines.

He's a rascal. His tenacity and loyalty are what have kept him functioning so long. Threepio has no knowledge of events, so he's being pulled along by Artoo at the beginning of A New Hope. He frets about regulations. Artoo knows the full picture, and when Leia gives him personal instructions to seek Obi-Wan it overrides all other programming.

He did the best that he could to pilot the escape pod as close to either Mos Eisley or the Dune Sea as he could, but it was a primitive craft. They crash near to where Ben lives, which is also near the Lars farm. The Jawas pick them up and natually take them to the closest farm, where Owen buys them.

Threepio doesn't know any better, so he accepts their new position as farm hands. Artoo connives, waits, and leaves at his earlist opportunity. He lies about being the property of Obi-Wan perhaps in hopes that Luke or Owen would look into it, but primarily to conceal the message from Leia.

One of my favorite R2-D2 lines:
Luke: Wait a minute, where did she go? Bring her back! Play back the rest of the message!
Artoo: bleeps
Threepio: What message?! The one you've just been playing!

He's such a little ****.

Another one of my favorite moments is after Ben says, "Of course I know him; he's me," it immediately cuts to Artoo's reaction shot and whistle. I've always taken that as Artoo not recognizing Old Ben until that moment and saying, "DUDE! You got OLD!"


TLJ Edit: Watch your language.

 

The Jedi don't own the droids they use. They're the property of the Order and are issued. Remember, ownership is shunned by the Jedi. They're very Buddhist.

 

I still think Obi-Wan should definitely recognize R2. Seems as if he doesn't.

 

Alec Guiness' performance is so great in that it's very ambiguous. You can interpret so many things from his performance. When the movie first came out, you can believe him when he says "I don't seem to remember ever owning a droid" to mean he doesn't know who R2 is, and when he takes that breath and makes that stunned face when Luke acts how his father dies, it means that it's something difficult to talk about and wants to tell Luke as best as he can. Now with the Prequels, you can interpret these scenes differently. "I don't seem to remember ever owning a droid" means just that. Doesn't mean he doesn't recognize R2 . Likewise, that deep breath and face are when he comes up with something to tell Luke. Alec Guiness' performance is truly a great one.

 

"Come here my little friend. Don't be afraid" can also be taken both ways. Whether you believe Obi-wan recognises R2 or not.

I also love the way that Obi-wan's opening "Hello there" is echoed almost exactly by Ewan McGregor's Obi-wan when he confronts Greivous in ROTS. He says it in almost exactly the same way.

 

Yeah, Ewan's "Hello there." was one of the highlights of the movie for me (hence my signature).



And the age-old argument about why (insert character name) doesn't recognize (R2 or 3P0) in (such and such scene) is easily answered. How many Maytag washing machines exist? Would you recognize yours in a lineup? Or as with cars, while a lot of customization can be had, it's still a Grand Am or Taurus. I'm sure Obi-Wan recognizes the droids once he puts the pieces together. But to expect him to recognize them by sight, out of context, and 20 years later? Folly.

 

I think he does recognize him. When he brings in the lines "I don't seem to ever remember owning a droid.." the expression on his face is somewhat strange and also seems like he's playing it off that he doesnt remember owning the droid. His facial expressions seem to give it away in my opinion.