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C-3PO Returns!

A golden droid, a red arm,

and the comedy of character

Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens

Writers: J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt Director: J.J. Abrams

The Force Awakens was about returns just as much as debuts. The legacy of this film may well end up being all the new characters it brought to us like Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Rey, but there is no mistaking that part of what was being presented to fans in December 2015 was a few more rides around the space block with your old friends. The Force Awakens was chock-full of new glimpses of our lifelong heroes.

Whether these first looks came at the very end, part of an emotional crescendo to the new story, or popped up along the way, it was nostalgic fun attending this reunion. Han Solo and the Mighty Chewbacca had the most celebrated of these returns (more on this later), but the others kept pace, mostly. Luke Skywalker waited around on a hill in one of the most daring story beats of the movie. General Leia showed up with a knowing smirk at her husband, in the middle of leading a resistance. Admiral Ackbar was too busy planning to wink at the camera. R2-D2 was taking a nap. And Nien Nunb, well, it was just nice knowing that our favorite Sullustan was back. Yet one return of a classic character actually struck a chord—striking a pitch-perfect balance between string-tugging nostalgia and staying true to the character.

C-3PO was back!

Episode VII was really moving along by the time everyone’s favorite, high-strung protocol droid showed up. It was almost a surprise. The audience was investing more and more in the adventures of our new heroes Rey and Finn when, suddenly, General Leia and her Resistance fighters show up. That itself is a great moment. The door to the Resistance transport opens to reveal Leia. Always a leader and not just a princess, she was now a general, the weight of the galaxy once again on her shoulders. Her expression is both weary and wry as her estranged husband stands before her. As fans, this is one of the moments we bought a ticket for. Leia…and Han…once again.

Then, like he’s done so many times before, most notably on the Millennium Falcon while it was resting not-so-comfortably in the belly of the Exogorth in The Empire Strikes Back, C-3PO interrupts. He’s once again robbed Han Solo of a moment alone with Leia and the moment earns its laughs. And C-3PO comedy is very much a reason to love Star Wars.

There are a lot of great Threepio moments to revel in and so much of that has be chocked up to the masterful performance of Anthony Daniels. Humor in Star Wars has and always will be important, but the humor around C-3PO always seems to work best. It’s the comedy of character. Similar to how Han Solo being Han created some of the fandom’s favorite jokes, bits, and declarations of love, the character of Threepio constantly earns laughs by being…well…himself.

The saga of Star Wars is fueled by serial adventure craziness. Something’s always going wrong, something’s blowing up, people are fighting, things are moving fast, and the opera in space opera is always moving forward. And in the middle of that is an anxiety-riddled droid just trying to hold on to one small piece of calm and adhere to his protocol programming. He just wants to do right by you…and for his princess. Yet flummoxed Threepio is best Threepio and time and time again some of the biggest laughs in Star Wars circle around him.

Does it always work? No. No it doesn’t. The Threepio cameo in Rogue One is fun, but doesn’t have time to breathe and, quite frankly, the comedy around him in Attack of the Clones veers way too far into wackiness and is a legendary stumbling block for fans looking to unilaterally love Star Wars. Even for Star Wars, a world in which giant space slugs rule criminal undergrounds and a pet dog inspired the best copilot in the galaxy, Threepio losing his head in the Petranaki Arena on Geonosis didn’t seem real.

Which is why the grand return of C-3PO stands tall among his portfolio of laughs. He’s excited to see Han Solo despite the years of verbal jabs he’s received from the crusty smuggler. (Perhaps that’s one of the added benefits of memory wipes.) He has no ego, so he’s not going to assume Han remembers him. And because he’s polite, he’s going to give you the out of blaming his new red arm and wants to make sure Leia knows it’s him. It would never occur to C-3PO that any of these feelings or assumptions are wrong, especially against the backdrop of two reunited lovers standing among the rubble of a freshly destroyed castle burning because of their son and his band of evil soldiers.

And we wouldn’t want C-3PO, who is fluent in over six million forms of communication, any other way.