It occured to me today, as I lay out in the sun wondering what I would be doing in third period if I had decided to go to class, that the rise of the Empire is all R2-D2's fault.
In "The Phantom Menace", R2 is only a regular R2 unit until Padme's ship is suddenly in trouble. Then he saves everyone on the ship, which includes Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padme Amidala, three of the most pivotal characters in the entire Star Wars saga. Had that ship gone down, they would have missed Tatooine by just a hair.
Sure, Padme, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon would have died, but by the three of them dying forever, they would have never discovered Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon would have never discovered that Anakin was to be a Jedi, and more importantly, Anakin would have never met Padme, who's the main , if only, reason that he went to the dark side in the FIRST place, thus causing the Empire to rule the galaxy for so many years!
So R2-D2, a character well-known and loved by every Star Wars fan, is guilty of the death of millions. Unfortunately, he's too lovable for me to hate, so I just blame Lucas.
This is in the Debate Den because it IS a debate, darn it.