During the timeline from Revenge of the Sith to A New Hope, C-3PO had his memory erased. Yet, R2-D2 did not. What explains this divergence? One main explanation is that 3PO could reveal too much, while R2 would not. We can also see how R2 may have been scheduled for a memory wipe, but it didn’t occur.
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3PO Would Reveal Too Much
One line of thought from this discussion is that C-3PO can talk while R2 can’t, so there was no need to wipe the latter’s memory. Relatedly, R2 may not have much to tell since Anakin had told him to “stay with the ship” on Mustafar and may not have been “privy to Anakin’s Vader ascension.” So, R2 can’t communicate how 3PO can and may not have vital information to convey anyway.
In comparison, Bail Organa had C-3PO’s memory wiped to protect Princess Leia and conceal her identity. He knew that he couldn’t have 3PO walking around talking about Padme and Anakin. In the Revenge of the Sith novelization, we have a conversation that reflects this decision.
In this novel, Organa said to Captain Antilles that he’s “placing these droids in your care,” and that they should be “cleaned, polished, and refitted” for Leia. 3PO told R2, “How lovely!” since Leia was “the child of Master Anakin and Senator Amidala,” and that he could “hardly wait to tell her all about her parents!”
Clearly, 3PO having his memory intact would pose a problem. Bail thus added, “Have its mind wiped.” To which, 3PO said, “Oh, dear.” All the while, R2 is relatively quiet, indicating he can keep a secret, if he is aware of those secrets to begin with.
This article supports that conclusion too by stressing how “Threepio was more likely to say something he shouldn’t have”, adding how in A New Hope, 3PO “almost immediately” told how R2 and he were with the Rebels. With 3PO being a “chatty droid,” and R2 not, R2 kept his memory.
The type of droid also supports this line of thinking. As this short video recaps, 3PO was “designed for translation and etiquette,” and direct interaction with humans and humanoids, while R2 was “built for military service and transfer of secret coordinates.” Hence, R2 had a more secure memory system and better defenses against attacks.
In all, 3PO was more prone to talking and vulnerable to information loss, but R2 was more secure with his memory and keeping secrets.
R2 May Have Been Scheduled for a Memory Wipe
A second way of explaining this divergence is that R2 was supposed to have his memory wiped but didn’t. We can see how this oversight happened in The Clone Wars series.
In Season 1, Episode 6, Anakin admitted that he didn’t wipe R2’s memory. Yet, this decision was not really a mistake, but has to do with “the importance of a loyal droid.” Anakin is more concerned with recovering R2 in this episode, not because he failed to wipe R2’s memory and the Separatists could gain valuable information, but because of his friendship with this one-of-a-kind astromech.
By extension, R2’s memory may have been kept intact because of those long-term connections with many friends within the Republic (and Empire).
3PO’s Second and Third Mind Wipes
C-3PO, on the other hand, had two more occasions when his memory was wiped. The second time preceded the moment above–it occurred in The Clone Wars, Season 3, Episode 8, when he was captured by Cad Bane. Bane wiped 3PO’s knowledge of his capture.
In The Rise of Skywalker, Babu Frik performed a redacted memory bypass to allow 3PO to translate the Sith writings on a dagger to find the Sith wayfinder. Afterward, 3PO was rebooted, and his memory was wiped. Fortunately, as this article reminds us, R2 had “a backup of his friend’s memory” so that 3Po was back to himself by the end of the movie.
3PO’s Mind Wiped, but Not R2’s
3PO had his memory wiped to protect Leia and the Republic. R2 did not because he could keep what knowledge he had to himself and was not designed to convey information the way 3PO was. R2 lucked out in that respect, and others, while 3PO lost his mind.