Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – 5 most shocking moments

4. C-3PO’s Mindwipe

C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) is a gem in the Star Wars universe. An annoying gem full of his own self-importance, but one who we all love dearly. The best part about Threepio is his unfailing loyalty to the franchise’s protagonists, irrespective of how terribly they treat him. And honestly speaking, everyone from Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to Poe is dismissive of Threepio and his concerns, even when he’s in the right.

Which explains why, when Threepio programming prevents him from translating Sith lore, the main trio isn’t phased by the idea that the droid will need to be mindwiped so that he can share the translation. They want to find the Emperor and Threepio resistance is standing in their way. And then Threepio gets to make the big sacrifice play, something he’s never been afforded before.

When Rey reminds Threepio that he knows the odds of winning against the Emperor without the Wayfinder better than anyone else, Threepio pauses to recount Poe’s inspiring words about everything and everyone that the Resistance has lost. With that, Threepio makes the decision to complete the mind-wipe and turns around to look at his friends one last time. There probably wasn’t a dry eye in any theatre during that scene. Sometimes, the most unexpected characters tug at your emotions, and Threepio’s demise was incredibly well written. It’s a little disappointing that he later regained his memory, though his resurrection was foreshadowed earlier on in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. He was the funniest part of the first half of the film, which made the mindwipe that much more devastating.