Upon watching the birth of Vader in Revenge of the Sith the other day a thought occurred to me. A subject that though I had thought about, I had not seen this aspect of it previously. This being the relationship of Anakin and R2.

We all know how his relationship with Padme and with Obi-Wan ended. What we don't think of is how his other friendships ended. As I have said before, I love the novel in that it goes into that friendship much deeper than the movie. We got to know what our favorite astromech was saying as well as Anakin's thoughts on him.

Mutual Friendship & Loyalty
We get to see how close they are during the battle above Coruscant with Obi-Wan chastising Anakin about treating R2 like he was a person (meaning he showed too much attachment) and Anakin defending himself by saying R2 was to him a much better companion than most people. Anakin was genuinely concerned for R2's well being at this point. I would even go so far as to say that he felt love for R2-D2. The astromech in turn showed love and loyalty back to him. We do get to see in the film a condensed version of some of what goes on in the book with the elevator scene as he defends R2's efforts to Kenobi.

*On a side note, at this point it is interesting to look at the juxtaposition of RotS' two halves relationship wise. It reads like a story form of the Yin and Yang. At the beginning he cares about and shares many "moments" with these three figures and shows it openly. In the second half all of that is gone as he throws away all that should have truly mattered. All reject what he becomes. He's alienated and alone.*

The Change
Now back from my meandering mind's journey, let's look ahead to the moment after the purge when Anakin flies back to Padme's apartment. I have blogged this before but it needs repeating here. The book gives us the conversation between C-3PO & R2-D2. It is a touching aspect of a part of the story that as I said earlier is lacking in the film. R2 laments the change in Anakin. He knows something is wrong and is sad (and a bit scared) by what it might mean. The most touching and poignant part of the scene in the novelization is R2 telling 3PO that he (Anakin) doesn't talk to him anymore. This was for R2 the biggest sign of the change that suddenly happened in their relationship.

Shifting Loyalties
Next let's take another short leap forward to the arrival on Mustafar. As he had always done R2 hops out of the fighter only to have Anakin callously tells him to stay there. This act on Anakin's part was the final cut in the chord of the relationship. The next time we see R2 he is helping bring the limp body of Padme aboard her ship in an attempt to get her to safety. R2 abandons his one time friend to try to pick of the pieces of the wrecked life he (Anakin) left in his wake. His loyalty shifted to the future and the memory of the the Anakin he loved, left within the other "family" members. Luke was right when he said to Ben that he never saw such devotion in a droid before.

A Severed Self
Anakin was from the beginning a lover of all things mechanical. Droids were companions to a boy who knew and had very little else. This followed him to adulthood and was transferred onto R2 when Padme gave the astromech to him. From then to the fall they would fly together just as they had back on Naboo in TPM. He even adapted one of his Delta7 Jedi Fighters to accommodate R2-D2's full body.Switch to Episode IV. Vader is a loner his ship no longer uses the aid of an astromech. This ship while still showing a love of the the next best and greatest technology is to me a symbol of the loss of his old friendship with R2 and other droids. He then goes on to shoot unknowingly the droid he had known so well. Solidifying his detachment. In fact there is no evidence of any interaction with any droids in the OT. Droids became not beings but tools that he no longer needed or felt kinship to. Vader in essence severed all elements of what he had and still could have been.

Another Change
Something else in connection to this tale is that Obi-Wan (whether he recognizes him or not) greets R2 in the Tatooine dessert as his "little friend". A big change from Kenobi of the PT who was at that time the one who considered droids as just tools. In his exile he must have found the value of all beings within the Force, mechanical & living. Who can deny that the Force was working through R2 and his devotion to the Skywalkers to bring all involved together at last. To right what had all gone wrong in his life becoming the companion of the son of Anakin.


***On Another side note*****I also want to point out another thing I noticed in reference to R2. In the escape of the Falcon at the end of ESB, he is working on the hyperdrive since he was the only one who knew what the Empire had done. C-3PO tells him to let Chewbacca do it and that he doesn't know how to fix a hyperdrive. Besides the fact that this was stupid on part of 3PO anyway considering this is one of an astromech's primary functions. It is funny to know that our introduction to R2-D2 in sequential time of the GFFA is him fixing a hyperdrive and assisting the escape of another group of fugitives. I couldn't help when viewing ESB on Spike noticing the comparitive scenes. ******


I'll catch you all later. I need to start my drive home. My wife and little girl are now in Memphis for a week so it's not much to look forward to in going home. It'll be a bit lonely, so I'll probably go to bed early as well. ... Or not . We'll see.

-Gold5