Simple Star Wars Theory Fixes The Biggest Plot Hole
There are many reasons Star Wars fans were annoyed by the prequels, including the introduction of what seemed to be an R2-D2 plot hole. Back in A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t recognize the little guy at all, but the prequels reveal that they have been in life-and-death situations on numerous previous occasions. This discrepancy never made sense, but one fan theory elegantly fixes this seeming plot hole by claiming that the droid remained loyal to Obi-Wan and decided to go along with any lies that he shared with Luke Skywalker.
From A Certain Point Of View…
For this fan theory about R2-D2 to make sense, we must first revisit the original plot hole created by The Phantom Menace and other prequels. In A New Hope, the little droid is determined to find a “Ben Kenobi,” but when he actually finds the man, he doesn’t seem to recognize him.
Strictly speaking, Kenobi doesn’t lie about not recognizing the droid but claims that he never owned one (as usual, he is telling the truth from a certain point of view).
Anakin
Speaking of telling the truth from a certain point of view, R2-D2 is there when Obi-Wan claims that his pupil Darth Vader betrayed and murdered Luke Skywalker’s father, and this creates another plot hole—or, at least, a very good question.
In addition to wondering why Obi-Wan didn’t recognize R2, we now have to wonder why R2 didn’t spill the beans about Vader. After all, Revenge of the Sith confirms that only C3PO gets his memory wiped, so R2 would still have full knowledge of all the major events of the prequels.
R2 Is Going Along With It All
According to this R2-D2 fan theory, there is no plot hole because the droid is basically Obi-Wan Kenobi’s ride-or-die, seeing the older man as a fellow veteran of the Clone Wars.
The droid would know almost right away that the Jedi Master is lying about not recognizing him. Later on, he would also have known that Obi-Wan is lying about who Luke’s father is and implicitly decided to simply go along with the lie.
A Plot Hole In A Plot Hole
Some fans might think that even this R2-D2 theory itself has a plot hole because the little droid may not be completely sure that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are the same person. But we can only assume the droid can use context clues and knows that the Jedi Master only had one apprentice, and he further knows that Obi-Wan tried to kill Anakin on Mustafar.
Basically, he had everything he needed to know the truth, and only would have chosen not to share it because he was Team Obi-Wan and totally cool with lying to Luke.
Like It Or Not, It Makes Sense
Some Star Wars fans may not like this R2-D2 fan theory because it fixes a seeming plot hole at the expense of giving the droid an adversarial early relationship with Luke Skywalker. However, this theory is perfectly in line with the droid’s cranky personality, and it makes perfect sense that he’d be more loyal to a war veteran he fought alongside than some rando kid he just met on a backwater planet.
Plus, it can only enhance our repeat viewings of A New Hope to know that R2-D2 was in on Obi-Wan’s con and just punking Luke for the sheer fun of it.
