Much has been made of Obi-Wan's apparent forgetfulness upon his first meeting with Luke in Episode IV. The Prequels seem to have created a few inconsistencies here, but perhaps there is more to this fateful event than meets the eye.

Firstly, backstory. Obi-Wan is currently in solitude on Tatooine, under the alias Ben Kenobi, a crazy old hermit living out beyond the Dune Sea. He is watching over Luke Skywalker, the last hope of the Jedi to bring about the downfall of the Sith. At this point, he knows Darth Vader survived his ordeal on Mustafar, and is presumably aware Yoda is still alive and awaiting Luke's coming-of-age.

Here, he meets R2-D2, a droid he had much contact with during the Clone Wars, via his comrade Anakin. During the Battle of Coruscant, it is evident Obi-Wan thinks enough of Artoo to use his assistance in what is arguably the most important mission in the war. So why would he not recognise that very same droid on Tatooine, in the company of Skywalker Junior, no less? Well, maybe he does.

Consider his opening line: "Hello there! Come here my little friend. Don't be afraid". Obviously, this was merely written as a simple greeting, and doesn't mean to imply Ben considers the droid a friend. However, with the Prequels having altered the storyline somewhat, it may mean just that. The Force is a powerful ally, and Ben may have sensed Artoo's involvement in this, and so is not surprised to find him near Luke's unconscious form.

Ben doesn't delve any further into Artoo's reasons for being here, however, since his priority is ensuring Luke is okay. He uses the Force to revive him - seemingly the opposite of what Palpatine does when he places his hand tenderly on Vader's forehead on Mustafar - and naturally, while Luke is awake, Ben can't take a journey down memory lane with the astro-droid.

At this point, Luke knows only that Ben is a crazy hermit, and even when Kenobi reveals his true name, this has no significence to Luke other than it is supposedly the name of Artoo's master. It is only at Ben's hut that Luke learns he was once a Jedi.

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

Aha, not so, say viewers of Episode III, because the twins are born well before Obi-Wan starts his solitude - and there's no pragmatic meaning of never being called Obi-Wan after that point either, because Yoda speaks his name onboard Tantive IV. Of course, he may be using his name as a metaphor for the Jedi Order - as in, with the fall of the Order, he no longer considered himself to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master, but judging by post-Episode III material, he is still very much a true Jedi.

So, he's either lying or is extremely forgetful for a Jedi - unlikely, since despite his 19 years in exile, he's only 57 at this point; three years younger than Qui-Gon in Episode I, and he was certainly not showing his age. And, as Dark Lord shows, Ben was not entirely alone on Tatooine, as he made many visits to the local settlements to gather news (and fuel his penchant for drinking, as the "Obi-Wan the Drunkard" theorists will be quick to point out!).

But why would he lie? Well, he's obviously not ready to tell Luke "The Truth" yet, so it seems throughout the scenes on Tatooine, Ben is sowing misinformation in Luke's mind. And again with, "Don't seem to remember ever owning a droid. Very interesting...". While yes, technically he never did own a droid (R4-P17 and R4-G9 were the property of the Jedi Order, not individual Knights; no possessions, remember?) if he were being honest he would have at least mentioned his prior connection with Artoo.

But why is he lying still? Well, the Episode III novel throws up an interesting point: during his battle with Darth Sidious, Yoda has a revelation; the Sith have evolved over the last millennium into something new, while the Jedi have been stuck in the last millennium training to refight their last battle with the Sith. He comes to the conclusion that the Jedi need to evolve too - and, it seems, to beat the Sith at their own game. As Yoda muses, the Jedi can never win a war against the Sith when war itself has become their weapon. So it appears the Jedi take on less Jedi-like ways of ensuring the fall of their enemies - starting with Obi-Wan trying to manipulate Luke into fighting for his cause. He keeps secrets from Luke just as Palpatine hid his true nature from Anakin.

Of course, it all pays off in the end, but it definately seems the Jedi have become much more than when we saw them prior to their tragic fall after the Clone Wars.