The Mandalorian: Who Is R5-D4?
The Star Wars franchise isn't entirely reliant on callbacks, references, and legacy cameos, but they're still happy to throw them in every so often. The Mandalorian is still primarily the journey of Din Djarin and Grogu, but plenty of familiar faces pop up. R5-D4 doesn't really have a face, but he did make a substantial splash with his appearances in the show.
Droids are a strange background element of the Star Wars franchise. The major projects never put too much emphasis on the sentient machines that seem to handle most of the galaxy's grunt work. However, a couple of droids have become beloved iconic characters. Several other droids have become minor figures of note, who are memorable but never duly celebrated.
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What is R5-D4's purpose?
R5-D4 is an astromech droid. He and his peers exist to aid those who fly spacecraft. Their primary purpose is performing repairs while in motion. Their name is a portmanteau of "astro" a prefix referring to outer space and mech, short for mechanic. Droids like R5-D4 have a full suite of tools that allows them to fix any disaster that could occur in space. They also serve as copilots, offering a more fully-realized autopilot system. Some iterations of the story suggest that astromech units are key to calculating hyperspace jumps, making them crucial to any long journey. The most famous astromech droids are R2-D2 and BB-8, both of whom distinguished themselves by carrying vital information.
His newest role in The Mandalorian is to serve as Din Djarin's astromech. Djarin made his way back to Peli Motto's hangar to fix IG-11, the only droid he ever grudgingly tolerated. Unfortunately, that goal remains unfulfilled. Instead, Motto sold Djarin on R5 as a solution to his problem. Djarin needs to go to Mandalore to wash himself in its "living waters" and regain his claim to the clan he belongs to. Mandalore is thought to be uninhabitable, so Djarin tasked a machine with being his canary in the coal mine. R5 is cowardly and unwilling to join the quest. His fears are proven right as soon as he rolls out of the droid port. After Mando saves his life, R5 gets a chance to return the favor when Djarin is captured by a cyborg. R5 flies Djarin's ship to get Grogu to Bo-Katan and request aid. However, this isn't the first time R5 has gotten to play the hero.
What did R5-D4 do before The Mandalorian?
Fans know the red astromech droid from one scene in the original 1977 Star Wars. The scene is somewhat unique. Luke and his uncle Owen are preparing to purchase some droids. The Jawas present their finest options, R5 and R2. However, by this point in the film, the audience knows that R2 holds Leia's cry for help. Bizarrely, the fate of the galaxy hinges on this farmer's home electronics purchase. For a moment, it seems like Luke might guide Owen to buy R5. Then R5's head explodes, immediately rendering it inoperable. As a result, Owen buys R2-D2 and the rest is history. However, extraneous material has added some depth to this strange scene.
After watching A New Hope, one might assume that dumb luck drove R2-D2 into the home of Darth Vader's son. In many ways, it did, but R2 didn't escape the Jawas by chance. A 1999 comic story called "Skippy the Jedi Droid" demonstrated that R5 was the first Force-sensitive droid. During that fateful moment with Owen and Luke, R5 experienced a premonition of Luke's future and realized his place in it. As a result, R5 caused his "motivator unit" to malfunction, sacrificing himself for the benefit of the universe. That story has since been rendered non-canonical, but the spirit of the story remains true.
Rae Carson's 2017 short story "The Red One" from the collection entitled From a Certain Point of View reimagined R5's origin story. This version keeps most of the same context but removes the droid's force power. Instead, R2 informs R5 that he's on a mission of great cosmic importance. R2 convinces the red droid to sacrifice himself. When R5 finds out his new acquaintance works for the Rebellion, he willingly blows his motivator to ensure his sale.
The Star Wars franchise is not fond of coincidences. Things almost always happen for a good reason, even if that reason isn't clear at first. This often starts to feel silly. However, Obi-Wan Kenobi made it clear that there is no such thing as luck. Even something as seemingly random as a droid malfunctioning during a pivotal moment has a story behind it. R5-D4 is a simple astromech droid who willingly sacrificed himself for the good of the Rebellion. Like millions of other beings in the galaxy, R5 chose to put his needs aside to benefit the galaxy. There's a very good case to be made that the most pivotal conflict in the Star Wars franchise wouldn't have gone as well as it did without R5-D4 willingly blowing himself up.
MORE: Star Wars: 7 Most Villainous Droids From The Franchise
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