Much to my surprise, Droids is a legitimately good show. I don’t mean “good for a 1980s kids’ cartoon,” I mean, “I’m enjoying watching this, and look forward to the next episode.” The Nelvana house animation style is in top form – C-3P0 and R2-D2 are animated expressively while remaining within the parameters of their classic designs. Anthony Daniels is having a ball doing 3P0’s voice, and making the most out of being given more to do than he did in the films, which was rarely more than act scared and/or bitchy. The ongoing storyline is interesting and there are even ties to the movies, as in this episode the Droids get pulled into the Rebel alliance for what seems to be the first time.
It’s even touching on a topic mostly ignored by the movies so far – droids’ rights. There are two bad guys, gangster boss Sise Fromm and his son Tig, whom Sise mostly despises and constantly threatens to murder for his incompetence. (They don’t use the word ‘murder,’ because, you know, kids’ cartoon, but the implications are clear.) Tig is presented as the lesser of the two evils, and he’s fiercely pro-droids, whereas dad Sise hates them. The attitude of Sise’s faction – usually represented by various minor characters bullying our two heroes for being droids – is shown as discriminatory and wrong.
Of course, that’s not all that surprising – the show is called Droids, after all, so 3P0 and R2 are obviously going to be presented sympathetically. But then, upon arriving on a new planet, our main cast are asked to wait in line to register their arrival. The humans… wait, are humans in the Star Wars universe called ‘humans,’ or something else? I’m not looking that up. The humans and the droids have to wait in separate lines, and C-3P0 calls it out as discrimination. It’s a quick moment, kind of a throw away line, but it isn’t played as a joke. I doubt the writer really thought much of it, but it’s interesting that the concept of discrimination against droids exists at all, and that 3P0, a pretty servile guy most of the time, is aware of it, and capable of feeling its sting.
Luckily, while the concept of droid free will is a little uncomfortable to think too hard about in relation to the movies, in the context of Droids, you can contemplate it guilt-free: C-3P0 calls Thall Joben his “master,” but he and R2 chose to tag along with him in the first episode. Nobody bought anybody and there aren’t any restraining bolts; the droids got rescued from the desert by Thall and his boyfriend-in-my-head-canon Jord, liked them, and stuck around. They’re part of the team, not possessions. Honestly, being sold to Luke probably felt like a bit of a step-down…
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