Why Droid Bounty Hunters

[sbk1234]

One thought I actually had was that somebody owned the bounty hunter droids, and hired them out for a huge fee to someone who wanted the get the bounty. The droid owner would get paid no matter what for renting out the droid, and the customer would carry the risk if not getting paid if the bounty escaped or a different bounty hunter got it.

This is all non-canon, for what it’s worth.

 

[HugeLobes]

One thought I actually had was that somebody owned the bounty hunter droids, and hired them out for a huge fee to someone who wanted the get the bounty. The droid owner would get paid no matter what for renting out the droid, and the customer would carry the risk if not getting paid if the bounty escaped or a different bounty hunter got it.

This is all non-canon, for what it’s worth.

I guess that makes the most sense. I'd hire one of those little droids on wheels that Chewie roars at on the Death Star. Nobody would suspect a thing until it was too late.

 

[fireproof78]

I guess that makes the most sense. I'd hire one of those little droids on wheels that Chewie roars at on the Death Star. Nobody would suspect a thing until it was too late.

Kind of like TODO in Clone Wars. I always felt bad for him and the MSE droid

Thinking about this conversation and what always struck me as interesting was Obi-Wan's line in AoTC:

And it shows a bias towards droids, and that maybe Anakin and Luke's attitude were a bit more unusual, especially regarding R2. We see lots of others regard them as little more than appliances. Even the Rebels, who would obviously being running low on equipment, offer another one.

So, perhaps Obi-Wan's attitude is not so off from the rest. And, one thing to consider is that the galaxy had just gotten done with a war against an army of droids. So, limiting their sentience and regarding them as little more than tools to ensure they wouldn't rise up again.

Obi-Wan's attitude might, as odd as it sounds, be reflective of his experiences, and the galaxy's wider response to the droid army.

 

[Reverend]

It's also worth remembering that our attitude is somewhat skewed in that most of the droids we've been exposed to have been unusual ones that have actual character quirks.

Most are as Obi-Wan says, unthinking and just following their program. Even the ones you can have a "conversation" with are just equipped with a user friendly interface. Anakin and Luke are more prone to empathise to a point* since they grew up lonely and spent a lot of long tedious days working alongside droids of one sort or another. For most people, they're just appliances. Sure, you might be fond of one, but it's still only a droid. It's be like someone being overly sentimental about their roomba, or Alexa.

* I say "to a point" because remember how unconcerned Luke was after R2 was totalled in the trench run? "Oh hell be fine!" Sure, it might be obvious to him his memory core is intact and he's very repairable, but still not much in the way of empathy for a supposed friend that just had their head blown apart. Also recall how Leia was only mildly vexed by Threepio being blown apart on Cloud City, or indeed how little concern Luke had when he left R2 behind to fend for himself.
They may have more than the usual amount of affection, but they're still just droids. Pets at best, not equals.​

 

[JD]

Haven't there been a few times we've seen people act shocked at how Luke and Anakin treat their droids? I know I have gotten the impression over the years that the way they treated R2 and 3PO was not the typical way people treat their droids.

B1 Battle Droids were seen running out of power during the Clone Wars. R2 needed power from time to time (Luke plugged him in just before Yoda showed up). How long a droid can function off a charge seems to be a fairly long time, though high energy use can drain them faster.

Fuel is probably the wrong word, though I imagine some droids have internal processors to convert different things into power they can use. They need power.

Well, Luke refers to power for R2 on Dagobah. "You ready for some power?" and then plugs him in to some sort of pack.

Oh right, I forgot all about that. Now that you mention, I think I do remember a few other references to droids needing to charge.

 

[fireproof78]

Haven't there been a few times we've seen people act shocked at how Luke and Anakin treat their droids? I know I have gotten the impression over the years that the way they treated R2 and 3PO was not the typical way people treat their droids.

Not shocked, per se, but Obi-Wan definitely regards Anakin's way of talking to R2 as odd, to say the least. And I think @Reverend is on point when he says there is a distinct difference in even how Luke treats the droids. There is a care but they are note equals with other beings, and their sentience is probably a matter of debate.

 

[Reverend]

I don't have a link for it to hand, but I recall reading somewhere that even Lucas's attitude regarding R2 is that he's analogous to the family dog. Which is why he doesn't tell Luke about Anakin or Yoda; he doesn't comprehend the interaction on that level.
It's kind of a weird situation where droids generally can't "think",at least not in an abstract, self aware sense; but they can develop emotional reactions on par with non-sapient animals.

 

[fireproof78]

I don't have a link for it to hand, but I recall reading somewhere that even Lucas's attitude regarding R2 is that he's analogous to the family dog. Which is why he doesn't tell Luke about Anakin or Yoda; he doesn't comprehend the interaction on that level.
It's kind of a weird situation where droids generally can't "think",at least not in an abstract, self aware sense; but they can develop emotional reactions on par with non-sapient animals.

Kind of the way science is looking at dogs evolving to provoke certain reactions from humans, it seems.

Also, it definitely varies from writer to writer in terms of how they handle droids. The Clone Wars finale is perfect evidence of that.

 

[Ithekro]

I wonder about that. Given what R2 did when Luke boarded the Falcon in "The Last Jedi". Poking his buttons with the image of Leia.

 

[Reverend]

I wonder about that. Given what R2 did when Luke boarded the Falcon in "The Last Jedi". Poking his buttons with the image of Leia.

It could be as simple is "this thing made you change your mind and get off a planet before..." He doesn't have to fully understand the implications of the action for it to be effective...which it wasn't.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Maybe we'll get a whole thing on Droid Liberation. The imagery is there, we've seen restraining bolts and torture to keep them in line, ultimately getting wiped if they don't conform. They call their owners master. Maybe #AreToo will be the hashtag for the droids are sentient movement.

 

[fireproof78]

Maybe we'll get a whole thing on Droid Liberation. The imagery is there, we've seen restraining bolts and torture to keep them in line, ultimately getting wiped if they don't conform. They call their owners master. Maybe #AreToo will be the hashtag for the droids are sentient movement.

If droids could think there would be none of them left.

 

[Reverend]

Maybe we'll get a whole thing on Droid Liberation. The imagery is there, we've seen restraining bolts and torture to keep them in line, ultimately getting wiped if they don't conform. They call their owners master. Maybe #AreToo will be the hashtag for the droids are sentient movement.

I doubt it. For one, that would require a fundamental upheaval of the Star Wars formula. And for another thing; 99.99999999999% of droids in the galaxy are not and never can be more than their programming. The average mouse droid or a gonk is likely to even be able to comprehend the concept of free will, let alone experience it.