CT How did Owen and Beru Lars and Obi-Wan Kenobi not recognize C-3PO and R2-D2?

I'm guessing droids generally don't last long when they're working hard in dust and sand, and their day-to-day maintenance is performed by amateurs.

 

A better question is why didn’t Yoda ever mention that he knew R2, and why did R2 never mention to Luke that he’d met Yoda and been to Dagobah before.

personally my head canon is that R2’s memories were damaged when he got shot in the head by Vader’s TIE fighter.

 

I think the answer is the OT was written before the PT.

 

How do you know? Maybe GL is a time traveler

 

Bingo!! Thank you to the PT for this continuity error

 

Well, yeah, but this is Star Wars. You need a convoluted backstory to make it work.
They aren't going to show it in a PG rated movie, but Tatooine is a rough wild west of a place. The men are Real Men, which involves a lot of bar fights involving hits to the head, and gallons and gallons of homebrew alcohol.

They live in a permanent alcoholic haze. They wouldn't remember what they were doing yesterday, let alone two decades ago.

 

They knew R2 for maybe a day at least. They’re definitely not gonna remember him 19 years later.

As for C-3PO, it’s a little tricker as paint job aside, the droid did say exactly what he was. I suppose one could argue old age. It probably jogged Owen’s memory just a tad, but time rusted it so he’s probably not gonna remember exactly that this was the exact droid that used to work with them.

And think of it this way — Shmi was his mother, through adoption via marriage to his father. Likely she brought C-3PO with her when she went to live with the Lars. He probably spent all those years she lived with the associating C-3PO as her droid. Then she gets killed by the Tuskens, her own biological son, Anakin, comes along to bury her and take C-3PO away.

That’s gotta be some traumatic **** there. It’s possible he repressed it over the years so even if he heard the name again, even if it jogged some long-repressed memory, he’s certainly not gonna wanna relive it and try to connect the dots. I certainly wouldn’t if I encountered someone nineteen years later whose name and appearance resurfaces extremely painful memories from decades prior.

In short, he may have indeed recognized this droid as Shmi’s droid by appearance and name, but he immediately represses the memories and acts like he doesn’t even know this droid. Because this droid brings back a horrible event where his mother was kidnapped by the Tuskens and murdered.

 

C-3PO does not say what he is. Owen says, I guess you're programmed for etiquette and protocol. C-3PO replies, those are my primary functions. And 3PO never introduces himself to Owen. 3PO's name is never mentioned in front of Owen or Beru. Add to it 3PO now having complete body coverings, neither Owen nor Beru would have any reason to assume or even suspect that it was C-3PO. It would be like asking you to remember someone from 20 years ago who doesn't tell you his name and has had complete reconstructive plastic surgery to 100% change their appearance.

 

that's what happens when you make movies in reverse order

 

But the order the movies were made in isn’t really a factor anyway. The explanations given already by many above show why it all works for Obi-wan as well as for Owen and Beru.

Regarding the side question about Yoda and R2 on Dagobah... I don’t recall if Yoda had much direct interaction with R2 in the PT, but I don’t think he did. Either way, though, Yoda would obviously not have given it away at that point anyway because he was putting on a show for Luke and testing Luke’s patience. And R2 never had a memory wipe, but he seems to know the plan regarding Luke and never gives anything away to Luke directly or prematurely. Similar to how he doesn’t reveal on Tatooine that he already knows Obi-wan.

 

There are many similar protocol droids in the galaxy. We see one in the opening sequence of TPM. We see another one in the Rebel base in Hoth (and by the way, the way it the shot is framed, it's almost as if you were to assume that white protocol droid is 3PO!)

It's just a machine for Owen, who doesn't strike me as a sentimental man. He probably had many similar units ever the years.

 

Twenty-two years had passed between "Attack of the Clones" and "A New Hope". And considering how many droids seemed to have similar appearances, why would Owen and Beru be expected to remember Threepio and Artoo after two decades or more?

 

As written and shot, C-3PO would have still been without coverings when Anakin and Padme arrived at the Lars Homstead. He's still Ep1 C-3PO. While Anakin looks for his mom Padme uses that time to put on C-3POs skin. Owen and Beru would have spend less than a day around a finished C-3PO. And they only see R2-D2 for a few moments when alerts Anakin to Obi-Wan's message.

For how the movie was shot it makes pefect sense for Owen and Beru to not know C-3PO. The reshoots changed that. As for R2-D2 Owen and Beru were never familiar with the droid and wouldn't recognize him or thinking of C-3PO and R2-D2 as duo.

 

Maybe Owen did recognize 3P0 but just didn't care? Maybe his thoughts were actually along the lines of "I wonder if that's that droid. Probably is. Huh. Hope he works better now. Next!" I mean, its not like he'd go running and hug him. At most, I'd give him maybe a quick "the darnest thing" type convo with Beru before bed, but that's it lol.

 

Of course Owen didn't recognize C-3PO, he had a different colored arm than the last time he saw him.

 

Lots of droids look similar to R2 and 3PO. They’re not the last of their kind. Or they knew but said nothing. But indeed...it’s because the films were made in reverse order.

 

Too much spice over the years. Makes you slow in the head.

 

Threepio had silver plating that did not fully cover him when he left Tatooine with Anakin and Padme in "Attack of the Clones". He was completely covered with gold plating when he returned to Tatooine some 22 years later in "A New Hope". Why would Owen be expected to remember him, especially since Threepio never introduced his name in front of the former?

I don't recall Yoda's interactions with R2 being that extensive, except aboard the Tantive IV in one scene, during the last act of "Revenge of the Sith". I don't recall Yoda paying any attention to both of the droids. And when did R2 ever visit Dagobah, let alone set foot on the planet before "The Empire Strikes Back"? He was probably aboard the Tantive IV, when Yoda arrived on Dagobah.[/quote]

 

Not to mention the VERY first time we see 3PO at the beginning of ANH he is with another unit that looks almost exactly like him, except the "skin" is more silver and slightly shinier. In fact, the first words we hear him say is to that very other 3PO (or whatever that model is called). So yes, you could definitely say that those units are pretty common around the galaxy, for decades if not even centuries. It makes perfect sense Owen doesn't recognize him.
As for Kenobi not recognizing R2, that seems a little odd. Sure, he's right that he never "owned" one, as Jedi don't really own anything. But he was on more than enough missions with him. Also, being a Jedi and having bad memory somehow doesn't fit. And it's not like he had a lot to do in those years on Tatooine.

 

In my opinion, he obviously recognizes R2 (as you say, it doesn't make sense otherwise) and he's just playing dumb.
After all, we must assume Luke and Ben have talked before, and Ben has never told Luke anything about his father. So he's probably used to act like an "old crazy hermit", and he's doing the same thing again.

 

All that is from the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

 

Who here remembers some piece of technology you owned 20 years ago?
Phone? Computer? Etc.

 

Oh God! No wonder that series is so frustrating to me.

 

I'm pretty sure I would, even stuff from 40 years ago. I mean I'd sure recognize the model, if not exactly the same device. But then I'm not 60 yet and my memory is pretty good, and I did pay a lot of attention to stuff like that. But with 3PO's changed appearance it's not a big deal Owen didn't recognize him.

 

After a while a phoen is a phone is phone. Same with desk top computers. Then again these droids talk and have more social interaction.

I think C-3PO looked different enough, it's like how you'd feel seeing an old car. It's not your car, but a model car we used to have. Is C-3PO's voice unique to C-3PO??