Star Wars Theory: C-3PO Remembers Darth Vader Made Him

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the protocol droid C-3PO plays a relatively small, but pivotal role in guiding the heroes to the remnants of the second Death Star. His knowledge, memory wipe, and back-up may seem like advancing the plot alone… but could it also have given his the knowledge that he was created by Darth Vader?

As audiences now know, C-3PO is tasked with reading an ancient Sith inscription, containing information vital to Rey’s mission. Unfortunately, the droid’s programming prevents him from sharing the translation. With time running out and no other options, C-3PO agrees to have the information extracted from his mind, although the process wipes his memory. It’s a noble sacrifice that leaves the droid completely amnesic… until R2-D2 restores virtually all of C-3PO’s memories from a back-up a few scenes later. But it isn’t the first time C-3PO’s mind has been wiped…

The sequence calls back to a similar scene in Revenge of the Sith, when Bail Organa orders Threepio’s memory be erased to prevent him from sharing information about Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side. The scene helped clear up any continuity errors when C-3PO re-encounters (but does not remember) Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and even his ‘maker’ Darth Vader in later films. However, Organa does not have R2-D2’s memory banks wiped clean, which begs the question: could R2’s memory back-up have given Threepio his lost memories, too?

Does R2-D2 Remember The Events of the Clone Wars?

A look into the Star Wars Expanded Universe stories (some of which may be considered ‘Legends’ by Disney at this point) reveals just how much R2-D2 witnessed and recorded during the Clone Wars. As has been noted in several instances, Artoo has never had a full memory wipe, enabling him to retain his recollections of everything he saw and heard over the decades. This includes his first meeting with Padme Amidala, a nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, and C-3PO himself during the events of The Phantom Menace. Artoo was also present at the First Battle of Geonosis and was a witness (along with C-3PO) to the secret wedding of Padme and Anakin during Attack of the Clones.

So, despite C-3PO’s claim in The Rise of Skywalker that R2-D2’s backup memories are unreliable, the Astromech droid likely has a very detailed backup of C-3PO’s pre-A New Hope memory – as well as countless recordings he took of his own experiences during the Clone Wars. Considering how many missions Artoo went on in the course of three separate galactic wars, R2-D2 is the greatest war historian in the universe.

Would R2-D2 Share His Memories With C-3PO?

The real question now becomes whether or not R2-D2 would actually share all of these recordings with C-3PO (or anyone else, for that matter). Despite the droid’s apparent obsession with recording war stories, Artoo rarely shared this information with anyone – which is probably why Bail Organa let R2-D2 keep his memories, and why Princess Leia Organa chose Artoo to safeguard the Death Star plans in A New Hope. R2-D2 knows the importance of security, which is why he was reluctant to show Leia’s recording to anyone except Obi-Wan Kenobi, and kept up the pretense of not knowing characters like Obi-Wan or Yoda (all of whom he had met in the prequels).

As a result, it’s a given that Artoo never gave C-3PO back his memories during the original trilogy (knowing the talkative protocol droid would inevitably open his mouth and share everything he knew about Darth Vader’s true identity). Considering that C-3PO met Darth Vader many times in Star Wars comics set during the original trilogy but did not refer to him as “The Maker” or “Master Anakin,” it’s clear he did not have his memories back at this point.

Even after the Empire was defeated and Darth Vader died, Artoo was reluctant to divulge what he knew. This is seen in a subplot of the Dark Nest trilogy. In this story, Luke discovers one of Artoo’s secret recordings and realizes the droid knew his mother. Artoo does not want to show Luke the recordings he made of Anakin and Padme, fearing they might upset his new master. Eventually, however, he discloses the information – showing Luke recordings of how Anakin attacked Padme, how Luke and Leia were born, and how Padme died. The recordings sadden Luke – and make Artoo relive some painful experiences as well.

Had R2 Restored C-3PO’s Memories Already?

Artoo could have returned C-3PO’s memories sometime after Return of the Jedi. With the Empire gone and more people learning about Darth Vader’s true identity, the need for secrecy simply wasn’t that important anymore. Plus, Artoo has shown a capacity for expressing sadness and loneliness. C-3PO and R2-D2 have been constant companions for decades (with Threepio even calling R2-D2 his “best friend” in The Rise of Skywalker). However, because of C-3PO’s memory wipes, Artoo is the only one left to carry the burden of everything they saw, heard, or did during the wars. Having someone with shared experiences to talk to would be a great relief for someone forced to keep so many secrets for so many years, making it likely that Artoo gave Threepio his memories back at some point.

It’s even possible that when Artoo, unwilling to lose his best friend, reloaded C-3PO’s back up memories into his head in The Rise of Skywalker that all of Threepio’s lost memories (including those from the Clone Wars) were restored. As a result, C-3PO once again knows that Anakin Skywalker was his “Maker” – something that will likely leave the uptight droid in distress as he registers the implications. Knowing this, Artoo may have installed some safeguards (similar to the program that prevents Threepio from translating Sith writing) into the protocol droid’s head to keep C-3PO from having a complete meltdown. Artoo might be a sentimental droid… but he’s not stupid.

About The Author

Michael Jung
(700 Articles Published)

Michael Jung is a mild-mannered freelance writer-for-hire, actor, and professional storyteller with a keen interest in pop culture, education, nonprofit organizations, and unusual side hustles. His work has been featured in Screen Rant, ASU Now, Sell Books Fast, Study.com, and Free Arts among others. A graduate of Arizona State University with a PhD in 20^th Century American Literature, Michael has written novels, short stories, stage plays, screenplays, and how-to manuals.

Michael’s background in storytelling draws him to find the most fascinating aspects of any topic and transform them into a narrative that informs and entertains the reader. Thanks to a life spent immersed in comic books and movies, Michael is always ready to infuse his articles with offbeat bits of trivia for an extra layer of fun. In his spare time, you can find him entertaining kids as Spider-Man or Darth Vader at birthday parties or scaring the heck out of them at haunted houses.

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